CN104882701A - Electrical connectors with enhanced electrical contact - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses an electric connector (10) which can be electrically connected with paired electric wires and comprises a pair of male and female connector shells and a pair of male and female connectors. The male connector housing (102) has a male connector housing coupling sleeve (103), and the female connector housing (202) has a female connector housing coupling sleeve (203) for telescoping engagement with the male connector housing coupling sleeve (103). A male connector (120) is mounted within the male connector housing (102) and has a male connector engagement end (122). A female connector (220) is mounted within the female connector housing (202) and has a female connector engagement end (222). The female connector engagement end (222) has a contact finger (240) and a pressure finger (250) for mechanically grippingly engaging the male connector engagement end (122) when the male and female connector housings (102, 202) are telescopingly engaged with one another and the male connector engagement end (122) is inserted between the contact and pressure fingers (240, 250). The invention can improve the conductivity.

Description

Electrical connectors with enhanced electrical contact

technical field

The invention relates to a push-in electrical connector for electric wires, in particular to a disconnect that can be repeatedly applied to the electrical connection of single-core or multi-core electric wires. More particularly, the present invention relates to a connector that utilizes a set of male and female connectors to provide an electrical connection with enhanced mechanical contact pressure.

Background technique

A push-in electrical connector can be used to electrically connect multiple electric wires together, and its use includes providing wiring for homes and offices, etc. When combined with a connection design that can be repeatedly engaged or separated, this electrical disconnect can be applied to a wide variety of uses, such as specified in Section 410.73 of the National Electrical Code (National Electrical Code). Among the installation applications of fluorescent lamp starters.

US Patent No. 7,887,353 issued to Bethurum et al. discloses a push-in electrical connector. This electrical connector relies on dimples formed on its male and female connectors to provide electrical contact between its two separable connectors. However, such a configuration does not provide sufficiently good electrical contact properties between its male and female connectors, mainly due to insufficient mechanical contact pressure. A mechanical contact of insufficient strength cannot ensure a sufficiently good electrical contact, ie, a good current rating. However, the size of the rated current is directly related to the safety performance of its electrical connector.

The electrical connector of Bechulan et al. has a pair of protrusions formed on its male and female connectors. When the two shells of the electrical connector are connected together, the pair of protrusions are normally in their natural relaxation condition. In other words, its protrusion contributes its mechanical stress only during the temporary state in which the two housings of the electrical connector are connected and installed. After this transient state, the two protrusions return to their natural relaxed state. It therefore cannot have any substantial effect on the electrical contact performance within the connector.

Contents of the invention

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector, which can electrically connect paired electric wires, and enhances electrical conductivity with enhanced mechanical gripping force.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector, which can electrically connect paired wires, and enhance electrical safety with enhanced mechanical gripping force.

To achieve the above and other objectives, the present invention provides an electrical connector (10), which can electrically connect a pair of electric wires, and includes a pair of male and female connector shells, and a pair of male and female connectors. The male connector housing (102) has a male connector housing coupling sleeve (103), while the female connector housing (202) has a female connector housing coupling sleeve (203) to connect with the male connector housing coupling sleeve (103). ) socket joint. A male connector (120) is mounted within the male connector housing (102) and has a male connector engaging end (122). A female connector (220) is mounted within the female connector housing (202) and has a female connector engaging end (222). The female connector engagement end (222) has a contact finger (240) and a pressure finger (250), which when the male and female connector housings (102, 202) are nestedly engaged with each other and the male connector engagement end (122) is inserted When between the contact finger and the pressure finger (240, 250), it can be mechanically gripped and engaged with the male connector engagement end (122). In the electrical connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, its joint insertion can force the fingertip (245) of the contact finger (240) and the fingertip (255) of the pressure finger (250) to separate from each other, and the contact fingertip (245) and the pressure fingertip (255) are pressed on the inner wall of the female connector housing connecting sleeve (203), to strengthen the mechanical grip.

The present invention also provides an electrical connector (10), when the male connector joint end (122) is not inserted between the contact finger (240) and the pressure finger (250), the female connector shell connecting sleeve (203) The inner space has a width greater than the distance between the fingertip (245) of the contact finger (240) and the fingertip (255) of the pressure finger (250).

The present invention also provides an electrical connector (10), the width between the fingertips (245, 255) of two fingers (240, 250) of the female connector 220, regardless of whether the male connector (120) is inserted, is The widest portion of the female connector (220) along its entire length.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the complete assembly of the electrical connector of FIG. 1 to electrically connect a pair of wires.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing that the male and female connectors of a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention have been aligned but not fully mechanically inserted to form an electrical connection.

The cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 shows that the male and female connectors of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 3 have been completely and plugged together to form a stable electrical connection.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a male connector.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a female connector.

Fig. 7 is another perspective view of the female connector.

Figure 8 is a side view of the female connector.

FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the electrical connector of FIG. 3 with its male and female connectors fully mated, depicting how the female connector exerts increased contact pressure on the male connector to form a firm electrical connection therebetween.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a side view of the female connector within the coupling sleeve section of the housing of the female connector prior to receiving insertion of the male connector.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a side view of the female connector within the coupling sleeve section of the housing of the female connector after receiving insertion of the male connector.

Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing structure for stably installing the male connector inside the housing of the male connector.

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing structure for stably installing the female connector inside the housing of the female connector.

Detailed ways

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of the electrical disconnect of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the complete assembly of the electrical connector of FIG. 1 for electrically connecting a pair of wires. The preferred embodiment of the invention described in Figures 1 and 2 can, when desired, be repeatedly applied to electrically connect or interrupt two electrical conductors, such as in Section 410.73 of the National Electrical Code. It is stipulated that it should be used in the installation application of fluorescent lamp starter. Although the following description of this description using the preferred embodiment will describe the electrical connection or interruption of two electric wires, those skilled in the art can understand that the electrical connection and interruption of more than two pairs of electric wire pairs should be applied. All connector structures of the present invention are equally feasible.

The first section of the first wire of any application circuit, that is, the wire section 11M connected to the male connector 120 of the electrical connector 10 in FIG. to the wire segment on the female connector 220. When the electrical connector 10 of the present invention is assembled and fully joined as shown in FIG. connected to ground to form a conductive line.

Likewise, when combined, the first segment of the second wire of the application circuit, wire segment 12M connected to the male connector 120 of the electrical connector 10 in FIG. 1 , can be electrically connected to its opposite wire Segment 12F, ie the segment of wire connected to female connector 220, forms a second wire circuit. As clearly shown in FIG. 2 , when assembled properly and completely, the coupling sleeve 203 at one end of the female connector housing 202 is completely inserted into the coupling sleeve 103 of the corresponding male connector housing 102 .

The electric connection between the electric wires 11F and 12F of the female connector 220 and the electric wires 11M and 12M of the male connector 120, as shown in FIG. As shown, the male and female connectors 120 and 220 each have a wire engaging edge bent at an acute angle generally toward the insertion direction of the wire when installed on the connector. For example, the male connector 120 of the wire 12M has the wire engaging edge 125 oriented at an oblique angle at an acute angle relative to the insertion direction of the wire 12M when inserted into the electrical connector 10 . Likewise, the female connector 220 has a wire engaging edge 225 . In this way, when the male and female connectors 120 and 220 are properly installed in their corresponding housings 102 and 202, a stable electrical connection can be formed between their respective joint blades and corresponding wires 11M, 11F, 12M and 12F. link.

In order to enable the electrical connector 10 to achieve a stable and reliable electrical connection between the wires 11M and 11F and between the wires 12M and 12F when combined, the male connector 120 and the female connector 220 must be connected to each other. A firm electrical contact can be formed. In addition, at the same time, a firm mechanical connection must be formed between the male connector housing 102 and the female connector housing 202 . This secure mechanical engagement of the two housings ensures a reliable electrical connection between the wires.

It is also necessary that the separation between the male connector 120 and the female connector 220 and between the male connector housing 102 and the female connector housing 202 must be easily and conveniently achieved. This is an important functional feature of the electrical connector 10 , that is, when disassembled, the electrical connector 10 can easily break the electrical connection between the wires. This is as important as being able to achieve a reliable electrical connection between wires 11M and 11F and between wires 12M and 12F.

The cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector 10 of the present invention. The male 120 and female 220 connectors have been aligned, but not fully mechanically inserted to form a stable electrical connection. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 4 shows that the male and female connectors of the electrical connector shown in FIG. 3 have been completely and plugged together to form a stable electrical connection. Note that the cross-sectional views of Figures 3 and 4, and Figures 9, 12 and 13 are taken along the direction of the central cut plane marked by line A-A in Figure 2 .

When assembling the electrical connector 10 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4 , the housing 202 of the female connector is located facing the coupling sleeve 203 of the corresponding male connector 102 and is inserted into the coupling sleeve 103 of the male connector 102 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the external size and shape of the coupling sleeve 203 of the female connector shell 202 properly correspond to the internal size and shape of the coupling sleeve 103 of the male connector 102 . The size and shape of the two are suitable for inserting the connecting sleeve 103 of the shell 102 into the connecting sleeve 203 of the shell 202 smoothly, but not excessively loose, and also allow the two connecting sleeves 103 and 203 are smoothly disengaged from each other.

The smooth socketing of the two connecting sleeves can also make the joint end 122 of the male connector 120 align correctly with the joint end 222 of the female connector 220, so that the male and female shells 102 and 202 of the electrical connector 10 are pushed close to each other. , so that the joint end 122 of the male connector 120 can be smoothly inserted into the joint end 222 of the female connector 220 . At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, a pair is formed in the electrical connector 10, and two electrical connections form a two-way conductor between the pairing of the electric wires 11M and 11F and the pairing of the electric wires 12M and 12F respectively. through the circuit.

The male and female connectors used to form the electrically connected pair, explained in Figures 3 and , are depicted in further detail in Figures 5 and 6-8, respectively. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the male connector 120 of the electrical connector 10 of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the female connector 220 , and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the female connector 220 from another angle. FIG. 8 is a side view of the female connector 220 .

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the male and female connectors 120 and 220 can be made from a single piece of metal. A better way is that the two connecting parts can be made using a die and stamping process. Stamping of metal parts is a high-volume manufacturing method with high efficiency but low cost. The male and female connectors can be made of phosphor copper (phosphor copper) sheet. This alloy has good electrical conductivity, but also has appropriate physical properties, which can provide sufficient mechanical elasticity to provide sufficient mechanical contact pressure between male and female connectors in a plug-in combination, and thus can provide reasonable electrical resistance. nature of contact.

As shown in FIG. 5, the male connector 120 has a protruding section at the other end opposite its wire engaging edge 125, forming an engaging end 122 of the male connector, which is matable with a corresponding engaging end of the female connector. Correspondingly, as shown in FIGS. 5 , 6 and 7 , the female connector 220 has a female connector engaging end 222 at the other end opposite to the wire engaging edge 225 thereof. The engagement end 222 of the female connector has a configuration substantially forming a receiving opening for receiving the protruding engagement end 122 of the male connector 120 . With its two contact fingers 240 and 250 , the female connector engagement end 222 of the female connector 220 essentially forms a stable gripping mechanism for firmly clamping the engagement end 122 of the male connector 120 when inserted.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 7 , the contact finger 250 in this illustrative embodiment of the invention has two contact finger branches 251 and 252 . In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the contact fingers 240 and 250 of the female connector 220 are made of a single piece of metal using a processing method such as hydraulic stamping, and the contact finger 250 thus forms two branches 251 and 252 .

When combining to establish an electrical connection, for example, two pairs of wires in FIG. 1 need to be connected, the two housings, ie, the male connector housing 102 and the female connector housing 202 , are assembled together, as shown in FIG. 2 . When assembling, the coupling sleeve 203 of the female connector housing 202 will be inserted into the coupling sleeve 103 of the male connector housing 102 . As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 , the protruding joint end 122 of the male connector 120 is aligned with the joint opening formed by the joint end 222 of the female connector 220 . FIG. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the fully mated male and female connectors of the electrical connector of FIG. 3, which depicts how the female connector exerts increased contact pressure on the male connector to form a firm electrical connection between the two, As will be described in detail in conjunction with FIGS. 10 and 11 below.

Due to the guided sliding of coupling sleeve 203 within coupling sleeve 103, this correct alignment is performed smoothly and easily. When the two housings 102 and 202 are pushed toward each other, the proper and precise alignment enables the engagement end 122 of the male connector 120 to be smoothly and firmly inserted into the engagement end 222 of the female connector 220 . However, although the connection sleeve 203 of the female connector housing 202 is inserted into the connection sleeve 103 of the male connector housing 102 in the above-described examples of the electrical connector 10 of the present invention, the reverse fitting method is also feasible. For example, the coupling sleeve 103 of the male connector housing 102 can also be made to be inserted into the coupling sleeve 203 of the female connector housing 202 having a corresponding opening size.

Note that in normal general application examples such as installation of new fluorescent lamps, the male 102 and female connector housings 202 of the electrical connector 10 used by electricians usually have their corresponding male 120 and female connectors 220 installed therein. Typically the entire electrical connector 10 is a complete system comprising two separable components, represented by the male 102 and female connector housing 202 to the user electrician. An electrician can plug the wires needed to install the light into these two separate parts, as shown in Figure 1. In the example of existing lamp maintenance, the electrician must first separate the two male and female components that have been firmly joined by the electrical connector 10 before performing lamp maintenance. In this example, both components of the electrical connector 10 are already connected to their corresponding power wires.

In order to provide a reliable electrical connection, the electrical connector 10 must be able to ensure a stable electrical contact between the male connector 120 and the female connector 220 . An important factor for such a stable electrical contact is that there must be sufficient mechanical contact pressure between the male and female connectors. Figures 10 and 11 explain in detail the key factors of how such enhanced mechanical contact pressure can be achieved between male and female connector pairs. Figures 10 and 11 schematically show a side view of the female connector within the coupling sleeve section of the housing of the female connector before and after insertion of the male connector, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 10 , the female connector 220 may be loosely mounted within the coupling sleeve 203 section of the female connector housing 202 . This means that both the fingertips of the contact finger 240 and the pressure finger 250 of the female connector 220 may not be in contact with the inner wall of the coupling sleeve 203 of the housing 202 of the female connector at the same time.

Next, referring to the schematic diagram of FIG. 11 and the cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 can clearly explain the principle that the electrical connector 10 of the present invention can utilize enhanced mechanical contact pressure to provide a stable electrical contact. When the male and female connectors are engaged, the engaging end 122 of the male connector 120 is aligned and inserted into the opening formed by the contact finger 240 and pressure finger 250 of the female connector 220 . The insertion force of the engaging end 122 of the male connector will force the two fingers 240 and 250 of the female connector to separate from each other to allow space for the engaging end 122 to enter. The inner space of the connection sleeve 203 of the female connector shell 202 is designed and made to be smaller than the contact finger 240 fingertip 245 and the pressure finger 250 fingertip 255 of the female connector 220, when the male connector joint end 122 is inserted. The distance is slightly smaller. Note that the width between the two fingertips of the female connector 220, with or without the male connector inserted, is the widest portion of the female connector along its entire length.

The fact that the inner width space of the female connector housing coupling sleeve 203 is smaller than the distance between the two contact fingertips 245 and 255 does not pose a problem when the male connector engaging end 122 is inserted. In fact, this is an important condition for the two fingers 240 and 250 of the female connector 220 to exert increased mechanical pressure on the engagement end 122 of the male connector 120 . This is because the metal material of the two fingers 240 and 250 of the female connector 220 allows its own deformation, so that the distance between the two fingertips can be shortened to be accommodated in the inner space of the connecting sleeve 203 . The elastic deformation of both contact fingers 240 and pressure fingers 250 creates the enhanced mechanical gripping pressure required for electrical connector 10 to provide enhanced electrical contact characteristics.

Thus, as shown in each of the accompanying drawings, an electrical connector 10 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, which can electrically connect pairs of electric wires, includes a pair of male and female connector housings, and a pair of male and female connector housings. connectors. The male connector housing 102 has a male connector housing coupling sleeve 103 , while the female connector housing 202 has a female connector housing coupling sleeve 203 for socket engagement with the male connector housing coupling sleeve 103 .

A male connector 120 is mounted within the male connector housing 102 and has a male connector engagement end 122 . A female connector 220 is mounted within the female connector housing 202 and has a female connector engaging end 222 . The female connector engagement end 222 has a contact finger 240 and a pressure finger 250, when the male and female connector housings 102, 202 are nested and engaged with each other and the male connector engagement end 122 is inserted between the contact and pressure fingers 240, 250 At this time, it can be mechanically clamped and engaged with the engaging end 122 of the male connector.

In the electrical connector of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, its joint insertion can force the fingertip 245 of the contact finger 240 and the fingertip 255 of the pressure finger 250 to separate from each other, and the contact fingertip 245 and the pressure fingertip 255 are pressed together. The housing of the female connector is connected to the inner wall of the sleeve 203 to enhance mechanical gripping.

In other words, when the mating end 122 of the male connector is not inserted between the contact 240 and the pressure finger 250, the inner space of the housing connection sleeve 203 of the female connector has a width greater than that of the fingertip 245 of the contact finger 240 and the pressure finger 250. The distance between the fingertips is 255.

In a preferred embodiment, the width between the fingertips 245, 255 of the two fingers 240, 250 of the female connector 220 of the electrical connector of the present invention, regardless of whether the male connector 120 is inserted, is the width along the length of the female connector 220. at its widest point along its entire length.

Once the male connector 120 made of metal is installed in its housing, that is, the male connector housing 102 , the male connector 120 must be firmly positioned therein. Fig. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing structure for stably installing the male connector inside the housing of the male connector. As shown in FIG. 12 , when the male connector 120 is inserted into the housing 102 toward its joint end 122 , the fixing gap 127 formed on the body of the connector 120 facilitates the corresponding fixing protrusion formed on the inner wall of the housing 102 . Block 112 latches snap together. As shown more clearly in FIG. 5 , the fixing notch 127 of the male connector is roughly formed on the body of the metal connector 120 , between the wire engaging edge 125 and the engaging end 122 .

Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a fixing structure for stably installing the female connector inside the housing of the female connector. Similar to the situation of the above-mentioned male connector, when the female connector 220 is inserted into the housing 202 toward its joint end 222, the fixing notch 227 formed on the body of the connector 220 is convenient for forming on the inner wall of the housing 202. The corresponding fixing protrusions 212 are latched and snapped together. As shown more clearly in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the fixing notch 227 of the female connector is roughly formed on the body of the metal connector 220 , between the wire engaging edge 225 and the engaging end 222 .

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, other modified methods should also fall within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims of the present invention should not be limited to the description of the preferred examples in this specification.

Claims (7)

1. an electric connector (10), can be electrically connected the electric wire (11M, 11F and12M, 12F) of pairing, it comprises:

One male connector shell (102), has a male connector shell linking sleeve (103);

One female connector shell (202), has a female connector shell linking sleeve (203), to engage with this male connector shell linking sleeve (103);

Be installed on the male connector (120) in this male connector shell (102), it has a male connector abutting end (122); With

Be installed on the female connector (220) in this female connector shell (202), it has a female connector abutting end (222), this female connector abutting end (222) has a contact finger (240) and refers to (250) with a pressure, when these public affairs and female connector shell (102,202) mutually socket engages and this male connector abutting end (122) is inserted into this contact and pressure refers to (240,250), time between, can close for mechanically grabbing clamping connection with this male connector abutting end (122);

Wherein a finger tip (245) of this contact finger (240) and this pressure can be referred to that a finger tip (255) of (250) forces disconnected from each other by this insertion, and this contact finger tip (245) and this pressure finger tip (255) are compressed on the inwall of this female connector shell linking sleeve (203), grab folder to strengthen this mechanicalness.

2. electric connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein when this male connector abutting end (122) is not inserted into this contact and this pressure refers to (240,250), time between, the width that the inner space of the female connector shell linking sleeve (203) of this female connector shell (202) has is greater than the distance between finger tip (255) that the finger tip (245) of this contact finger (240) and this pressure refers to (250).

3. electric connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the contact finger (240) of this female connector (220) and pressure refer to the finger tip (245 of (250), 255) width between, no matter with or without the insertion of this male connector (120), for this female connector (220) divides along the widest part on its whole length direction.

4. electric connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein this male connector (120) utilizes impact forming method to make by the metal material of single.

5. electric connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein this female connector (220) utilizes impact forming method to make by the metal material of single.

6. electric connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein this male connector (120) is made with phosphor-copper.

7. electric connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein this female connector (220) is made with phosphor-copper.