CN109962370B

CN109962370B - Electrical connector

Info

Publication number: CN109962370B
Application number: CN201711432638.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 方超; 马文正; 江伟国; 希尔文·巴尔林·阿南德; 于增亮; 张安阳; 马兆飞; 贾亚拉贾·木坤滕
Original assignee: Delphi Electrical Centers Shanghai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Delphi Electrical Centers Shanghai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2017-12-26
Filing date: 2017-12-26
Publication date: 2020-09-22
Anticipated expiration: 2037-12-26
Also published as: CN109962370A

Abstract

The invention discloses an electrical connector with a position retaining structure. The present invention provides an electrical connector comprising: a body forming an accommodation portion for accommodating the terminal, the accommodation portion receiving the electrical terminal therein; a housing engaged with the body and movable relative to the body; a drive rod disposed within the housing; and a transmission mechanism attached between the housing and the drive rod for transmitting translational movement of the housing relative to the body to the drive rod. With the electric connector according to the present invention, the electric connector configuration is simplified, disassembly is facilitated and the position of the drive lever during use can be reliably locked by the retainer.

Description

Electrical connector

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector with a drive mechanism for a drive rod.

Background

Electrical connectors are often used in connecting electrical components of vehicles. In practical applications, electrical connectors often need to be disassembled for maintenance, repair, etc. Existing electrical connectors often suffer from difficulty in removal, particularly in tight spaces.

Therefore, there is a need for an improvement in the conventional electrical connector, which can improve the ease of attachment and detachment while securing reliability, and can further simplify the structure of the conventional electrical connector and reduce the manufacturing cost thereof.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to overcome the disadvantages of the existing electrical connector, the invention provides an electrical connector, comprising: a body forming an accommodation portion for accommodating the terminal, the accommodation portion receiving the electrical terminal therein; a housing engaged with the body and movable relative to the body; a drive rod disposed within the housing; and a transmission mechanism attached between the housing and the drive rod for transmitting translational movement of the housing relative to the body to the drive rod.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the transmission mechanism is configured as a rack and pinion mechanism including: a first rack disposed inside the housing; a second rack provided on the drive lever; and a gear respectively engaged with the first rack and the second rack, the gear being fixed relative to the main body.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the main body has a first housing portion housing the first terminal and a second terminal housing portion housing the second terminal, the first terminal housing portion and the second terminal housing portion being spaced apart from each other by a space in which the gear is rotatably fixed to the main body.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the gear includes a concentric gear having a first gear engaged with the first rack and a second gear engaged with the second rack, the first gear having a diameter larger than a diameter of the second gear, the concentric gear being fixed with respect to the body.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, the first and second racks are engaged with the first and second gears, respectively, on opposite sides of the rotational axis of the concentric gears, the first and second racks moving in opposite directions.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the second rack is integrally formed on the drive lever, and the first rack is integrally formed inside the housing.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the driving lever has a resilient arm and a snap-fit portion at one end of the resilient arm.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the electrical connector further comprises: a drive lever holding member for holding a position of the drive lever, the drive lever holding member having a pre-mount position in which a portion of the drive lever having the click-fit portion can be bent and a lock position with respect to the drive lever; in the lock position, the drive lever holder prohibits the bending of a portion of the drive lever having the snap-fit portion.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, when the drive lever holder has a lock arm, in the lock position, the lock arm abuts against the elastic arm of the drive lever.

According to a further aspect of the invention, the drive rod holder and the drive rod are provided with a sliding groove and a sliding rail respectively, which are matched with each other.

With the electric connector according to the present invention, the electric connector configuration is simplified, disassembly is facilitated and the position of the drive lever during use can be reliably locked by the retainer.

Drawings

Figure 1A shows a perspective view of an electrical connector system according to the present invention in which an electrical connector according to the present invention is plugged with a mating male electrical connector.

Figure 1B shows a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector system of figure 1A.

Figure 2A shows a perspective view of an electrical connector according to the present invention.

Figure 2B shows a cross-sectional view of the electrical connector of figure 2A.

Figure 3 shows an exploded perspective view of an electrical connector according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a drive rod in an electrical connector according to the present invention.

Figure 5 shows a perspective view of a drive rod holder in an electrical connector according to the present invention.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the drive rod and drive rod holder assembly in one assembly.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of concentric gears in an electrical connector according to the present invention.

Reference numerals

10 electric connector

20 matching plug

101 cable seal retainer

102 connector seal

103 main body

104 drive rod holder

105 drive rod

106 concentric gears

107 outer casing

108 terminal

109 cable seal

110 cable seal retainer

1031 accommodating part

1032 an engaging projection

1041 slide rail

1042 locking arm

1045 operating part

1046 first stop piece

1047 second barrier

1051 second rack

1052 chute

1053 elastic arm

1055 clamping part

1056 third baffle

1057 fourth baffle plate

1058 groove

1061 first gear

1062 second gear

1063 Concentric round hole

1071 first rack

1075 elastic part

1081 crimping end

Detailed Description

The present invention is further described in the following description with reference to specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein the details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention, but it is apparent that the present invention can be embodied in many other forms different from those described herein, and it will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention can be implemented in many different forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Figures 1 and 2 show a perspective view and a cross-sectional view, respectively, of an electrical connection system having an electrical connector 10 according to the present invention. One end of electrical connector 10 is engaged with mating plug 20 and the opposite end of electrical connector 10 is configured to connect a cable.

As shown in fig. 2A, 2B and 3, the electrical connector 10 includes a main body 103, a housing 107 fitted outside the main body 103, a drive rod 105 providing a driving force to a mating plug to engage the two, and a transmission mechanism for transmitting a force and a motion acting on the housing 107 to the drive rod 105. In addition, electrical connector 10 includes a sealing structure disposed at both ends of the connector to effect a seal.

The main body 103 is generally integrally molded of resin, and as shown in fig. 3, the main body 103 includes two accommodating portions 1031 that accommodate the terminals 108. One end portion of the terminal 108 has a crimping end 1081 which is crimped with a core of a cable (not shown), and then the entire terminal 108 is fitted into the accommodating portion 1031 of the main body 103. To ensure sealing, the open end of the receiving portion 1031 engaging the terminal 108 is preferably fitted with a cable seal 109 and a cable seal holder 110 to seal the terminal 108 and the cable core from the outside. The distal end of the receiving portion 1031 forms a patch portion that engages with the mating plug 20.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 3, the two receiving parts 1031 separate a space in which a transmission mechanism adapted to transmit forces and movements is advantageously received. The space is arranged to enable the transmission mechanism to be positioned in the middle of the electric connector 10, force can be transmitted in a balanced mode, and the hand feeling of plugging operation is improved.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the transmission mechanism is embodied as a rack and pinion mechanism. According to a preferred embodiment, the rack and pinion mechanism comprises in particular a first rack 1071 arranged inside the housing 107, a second rack 1051 arranged on the driving rod 105 to engage the concentric gears 106 of the first rack 1071 and the second rack 1051, respectively.

The first rack 1071 may be integrally formed inside the housing 107 by molding. Alternatively, the first rack 1071 may be fixed to the housing 107 in a fixed engagement manner, so that the first rack 1071 can move in accordance with the movement of the housing 107 with respect to the main body 103. Referring to fig. 4, it can be seen that the second rack 1051 is integrally formed on one side of the drive rod 105 and extends a portion of the length of the drive rod 105. Alternatively, the second rack 1051 may be mounted to the drive rod 105 in a fixed fit.

Fig. 7 shows a concentric gear 106 fixed to the body 103. The concentric gear 106 includes a first gear 1061 having a larger diameter and a second gear 1062 having a smaller diameter, and the two

gears

1061 and 1062 are concentrically disposed. Preferably, the first gear 1061 and the second gear 1062 are integrally formed, and are formed with concentric circular holes 1063 pivotably mounted to a shaft provided in a space between the two accommodation parts 1031 of the body 103. The first gear 1061 is advantageously larger than the second gear 1062, which provides a labor-saving structure for moving the drive rod 105 with only a small amount of force applied to the housing 107. The gear ratio between the two

gears

1061 and 1062 also determines the ratio of the travel distance of the housing 107 to the travel distance of the drive rod.

As can be seen from the sectional view of fig. 2B, the first rack 10711071 inside the housing 107 engages the first gear 1061 on the left side as shown, and the second rack 1051 engages the second gear 1062 on the right side as shown, in other words, the two

racks

1061 and 1071 are arranged substantially parallel to each other on opposite sides of the rotation axis of the concentric gear 106, and the teeth of the two racks are in directions facing each other. Thus, when an operator exerts a force on the housing 107 to slide along the body 103, the first rack 10711071 inside the housing 107 rotates the concentric gear 106, and the rotation of the concentric gear 106 translates the second rack 1051, thereby driving the rod 105 in a corresponding translation to provide the driving action. In the illustrated embodiment, the sliding direction of the first rack 1071 is opposite to the translational direction of the second rack 1051. The transmission mechanism having the concentric gear 106 simplifies the transmission structure between the housing 107 and the drive rod 105, and improves the efficiency and reliability of the transmission.

Fig. 4 shows the drive rod 105 actuated by the transmission mechanism. The distal end of the drive rod 105 has a snap-fit portion 1055, which snap-fit portion 1055 is adapted for engaging a portion of the mating plug 20, such as may be engaged with a plug snap-fit portion (not shown) formed in the mating plug 20. When the drive rod 105 is moved, it can drive the plug to move relative to the electrical connector 10. The engagement portion 1055 of the driving lever 105 is disposed at the distal end of the flexible arm 1053, and a slide groove 1052 is formed in the driving lever 105, wherein the slide groove 1052 is open at the proximal end (i.e., the end opposite to the engagement portion 1055) of the driving lever 105. A second rack 1051 is integrally formed on one side of the drive lever 105, the second rack 1051 extending over a length of approximately 1/2 to 3/4 of the drive lever 105, and a resilient arm 1053 having a snap-fit portion 1055 projecting relative to the second rack 1051.

Fig. 5 shows a drive rod position retaining member 104 used in conjunction with the drive rod 105 to retain the position of the drive rod 105. The length of the holder 104 corresponds to the length of the drive rod 105. The retaining member 104 is provided with a slide rail 1041, and the slide rail 1041 cooperates with the slide groove 1052 on the driving rod 105 to realize the sliding connection between the two. The holder 104 further includes a lock arm 1042 at a distal end thereof, the lock arm 1042 abutting the resilient arm 1053 of the drive lever 105 to lock the resilient arm 1053 from bending. Preferably, the locking arm 1042 is snap-inserted between the resilient arm 1053 and the body 103. Further, the end of the holder 104 may further include a flange-like operating portion 1045, and preferably, when the elastic arm 1053 abuts against the lock arm 1042, the operating portion 1045 abuts against the end of the drive rod 105.

Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of the drive rod 105 mated with the drive rod position holder 104, which are configured as a drive rod assembly. The retaining member 104 is slidable relative to the drive rod 105 between a pre-load position and a locking position. As shown in fig. 6, the holder 104 and the driving lever 105 are provided with positioning structures, respectively. The driving rod 105 is provided with a first stop 1056 and a second stop 1057 acting as positioning structures, and the retaining member 104 is provided with a third stop 1046 and a fourth stop 1047 acting as matching positioning structures. When the retaining member 104 is pushed in toward the resilient arm 1053 with respect to the extending direction of the slide groove 1052 of the driving lever 105, the fourth blocking member 1047 first passes the first blocking piece 1056, and further, the retaining member 104 enters the pre-loading position. At this time, the lock arm 1042 is not yet in contact with the elastic arm 1053, and therefore, the elastic arm 1053 is bendable. When the electrical connector 10 is mated in place with the mating plug 20, the retaining member 104 is further pushed in the direction of the resilient arms 1053, the third stop 1046 of the direct retaining member 104 passes over the first stop 1056, at which point the fourth stop 1047 abuts against the second stop 1057, and furthermore the latching arm 1042 abuts against the resilient arms 1053 as shown in fig. 6, and the retaining member 104 reaches the locking position.

The first stop 1056 and the third stop 1046 each have a sloped surface on both sides to facilitate assembly and disassembly, while the second stop 1047 may optionally have a sloped surface on one or both sides. Thus, upon removal of electrical connector 10, retaining member 104 can be moved out of the locked position by pulling retaining member 104 toward the proximal end of electrical connector 10 to which the cable is connected, such that third stop 1046 moves past first stop 1056 and out of recess 1058 between first stop 1056 and second stop 1057, thereby releasing the latched state of resilient arms 1053.

To facilitate sliding and guiding of the housing 107 with respect to the body 103, guide structures such as guide rails and guide grooves are provided on the housing 107 and the body 103, respectively. As can be seen in fig. 3, one side surface of the body 103 is provided with a guide groove, while the interior of the housing 107 is provided with a matching guide rail. When the body 103 is inserted into the housing 107, the guide grooves and the guide rails cooperate to ensure the relative positions of the housing 107 and the body 103, and thus also the proper engagement state between the pinion 106 and the

racks

1071 and 1051.

As can be seen from fig. 2A, the housing 107 in the preferred embodiment surrounds the entire main body 103, and the operating portions of the housing 107 are provided on two opposite sides of the housing 107, thereby improving the operational feeling when the housing 107 slides.

Furthermore, a snap-fit structure is provided between the housing 107 and the main body 103 to fix the position between the housing 107 and the main body 103. For example, the outer surface of the body 103 may be provided with an engaging protrusion 1032, the housing 107 may be provided with an elastic portion 1075 at a corresponding position, and the relative position of the two may be fixed by the engagement between the protrusions by a matching engaging protrusion provided on the lower side of the elastic portion 1075. The snap-fit structure may also be implemented in other ways known in the art.

The electrical connector 10 of the preferred embodiment is easily assembled and disassembled.

Generally, before moving the housing 107, the terminals 108 to which the cables have been connected are mounted in the accommodating portions 1031 of the main body 103, the cable seal 109 and the cable seal holder 110 are mounted to the open ends of the accommodating portions 1031, the connector seal 102 and the connector seal holder 101 are mounted to the other ends opposite to the open ends, and the gear 106 and the drive lever 105 are fitted to a predetermined position between the two accommodating portions 1031 of the main body 103 while the mating plug 20 is loosely lapped on the electrical connector 10. At this time, the driving lever 105 brings the mating plug 20 and the electrical connector 10 close to each other by its snap-fit portion 1055 along the movable housing 107 which is engaged with each other along the guide structure of the housing 107 and the main body 103. During the movement of the housing 107, the first rack 1071 inside the housing 107 rotates the concentric gear 106, and the concentric gear 106 drives the second rack 1051, and the transmission mechanism converts the movement of the housing 107 in the direction into the movement of the driving rod 105 in the opposite direction, so that the connector 20 and the plug 10 are drawn close to each other. When mating plug 20 is connected to electrical connector 10, and drive rod retainer 104 is finally inserted into the locked position, latch arm 1042 of retainer 104 abuts spring arm 1053 of drive rod 105, limiting flexing of spring arm 1053. Further, since the length over which the resilient arm 1053 protrudes is long, the resilient arm 1053 of the drive lever 105 is deformed more, and therefore, the action of the resilient arm 1053 can be sensed more clearly during the installation of the electrical connector 10, and the degree of detectability of installation is high.

When it is desired to disassemble electrical connector 10, mating plug 20 and electrical connector 10 can be separated and disassembled by pulling drive rod retainer 104 out of the locked position, removing latch arm 1042 above spring arm 1053, and then sliding housing 107 and body 103 in opposite directions to each other.

Other variations of the present invention are possible in addition to the preferred embodiments disclosed above. For example, the second rack 1051 and the drive rod 105 may be provided as two separate members connected to each other. The teeth on the concentric gear 106 may be provided only in part, depending on the length of travel desired, and with corresponding stops to limit the travel of the drive rod 105. The cooperation of the drive rod holder 104 and the drive rod with each other's slide tracks can also be replaced with a guide between the holder 104 and the housing 107 or body 103.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in terms of the preferred embodiment, it is not intended to limit the invention, and variations and modifications may be made by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, any modification, equivalent change and modification of the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention are within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention, unless the technical essence of the present invention departs from the content of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising:

a body (103) forming a housing for housing a terminal, the housing receiving an electrical terminal therein;

a housing (107) cooperating with the body and movable relative to the body;

a drive rod (105) disposed within the housing;

a transmission mechanism attached between the housing and the drive rod for transmitting translational movement of the housing relative to the body to the drive rod; and

a drive rod holder (104), the drive rod holder (104) for holding a position of the drive rod, the drive rod holder having a pre-load position and a lock position with respect to the drive rod,

in the pre-assembly position, a portion of the drive rod (105) having the snap-fit portion is bendable;

in the locked position, the drive rod holder (104) inhibits bending of a portion of the drive rod having a snap-fit.

2. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the transmission mechanism is configured as a rack and pinion mechanism, the rack and pinion mechanism comprising:

a first rack (1071) disposed inside the housing (107), the first gear moving with movement of the housing relative to the main body;

a second rack (1051) provided on the drive rod (105); and

a gear (106) engaging the first (1071) and second (1051) racks, respectively, the gear being fixed relative to the body.

3. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the body has a first housing portion (1031) that houses the first terminals (108) and a second terminal housing portion (1031) that houses the second terminals (108), the first and second terminal housing portions being separated from each other by a space in which the gear (106) is rotatably fixed to the body.

4. The electrical connector of claim 2 or 3, wherein the gear comprises a concentric gear (106) having a first gear (1061) in mesh with the first rack (1071) and a second gear (1062) in mesh with the second rack (1051), the first gear having a diameter greater than a diameter of the second gear, the concentric gear being fixed relative to the body.

5. The electrical connector of claim 4, wherein the first rack (1071) and the second rack (1051) are engaged with the first gear and the second gear, respectively, on opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the concentric gears, the first rack (1071) and the second rack (1051) moving in opposite directions.

6. The electrical connector of claim 2, wherein the second rack (1051) is integrally formed on the drive rod (105), and the first rack (1071) is integrally formed inside the housing (107).

7. The electrical connector of claim 6, wherein the drive rod (105) has a spring arm (1053) and a snap-fit portion (1055) at one end of the spring arm.

8. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein when the drive lever retainer (104) has a latch arm (1042) that abuts a resilient arm of the drive lever when in the locked position.

9. An electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the drive bar holder (104) and the drive bar (105) are provided with cooperating slide grooves and tracks (1052, 1041), respectively.