CN114628936A - Connector housing with pin fixing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector housing having a pin securing structure, the connector housing defining a terminal passage provided with a pin terminal for loading and including a pin securing structure for the pin terminal, the pin securing structure comprising: the flexible positioning pieces are distributed along the circumferential direction of the terminal channel and are used for being elastically clamped with the pin terminal; and the plurality of rigid positioning pieces are circumferentially distributed along the terminal channel, and the rigid positioning pieces are used for being mutually abutted with the pin terminal within a first preset length in the axial direction of the terminal channel so as to limit the swinging of the pin terminal.

Description

Connector housing with pin fixing structure

technical field

The present invention relates to the technical field of electrical connections, and more particularly, to a connector housing with an improved pin fixing structure.

Background technique

Electric connectors are widely used in various industrial fields, such as vehicle connectors in automotive electronic and electrical architectures, and energy storage connectors in photovoltaic power generation systems.

Electrical connectors typically include a plastic outer housing and terminals mounted within the housing. After the terminal is inserted into the housing, the front and rear ends are respectively electrically connected with other conductors through appropriate wiring techniques (for example, the front end of the terminal is plugged with the mating terminal, and the rear end of the terminal is crimped or bolted to the wire). FIG. 1A shows a state of a receptacle connector for accommodating pin terminals after the wiring is completed, wherein the pin terminals 110 are used to be inserted into the plastic shell of the connector from the rear end of the receptacle connector 100, and then the receptacle connector The front end of 100 can be plugged together with a mating connector (not shown). FIG. 1B shows the receptacle connector of FIG. 1A from another perspective.

A pin terminal 110 shown in FIG. 2 can be used in the application shown in FIG. 1A . Combined with the external view of FIG. 1A , the cross-sectional view of FIG. 1D , and the pin terminal of FIG. 2 , the pin terminal 110 includes a front end 112 that is inserted into the receptacle connector 100 and a rear end 116 that remains outside the receptacle connector 100 . The tail end portion 116 may be flat and is provided with a threaded hole 118 , so that a copper medal or other conductor with a threaded hole can be connected to the tail end of the socket terminal 110 through a fastening element such as a bolt 120 . The front end 112 of the pin terminal 110 can be divided into three sections, which are the positioning boss 113 , the clip section 114 , and the plug section 115 in sequence. The positioning bosses 113 are used to cooperate with the housing structure of the socket connector 100 to provide basic positioning. The clamping section 114 may be provided with an annular clamping groove 1141 for engaging with the elastic clamping described below in conjunction with FIG. 1C . A cylindrical plug segment 115 is located at the end for establishing an electrical connection with a mating terminal in the mating connector.

FIG. 1C shows a view of the front end of the receptacle connector 100 (ie, the end opposite the insertion end of the pin terminal). As shown in FIG. 1C , in the cavity of the socket connector 100 for accommodating the pin terminals 110 , there are six elastic snaps 130 distributed at equal distances along the circumferential direction. FIG. 1D shows a cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector along section A-A in FIG. 1C , and FIG. 1E shows an enlarged view of the portion shown in the box in FIG. 1D . As shown in FIG. 1D and FIG. 1E , the elastic snap 130 is a cantilever structure extending from the inner wall of the cavity of the socket connector 100 . The raised snap-on protrusion 135 is used for snapping into the snap-in groove structure 1141 on the pin terminal, so as to play the role of fixing the pin terminal 110 .

Further as shown in FIG. 1E , the segment where the pin terminal 110 and the cavity of the socket connector 100 are physically connected is divided into a rigid fitting segment 151 and an elastic fitting segment 152 : the rigid fitting segment is formed by the rear jack at the rear end of the socket connector 100 The body of the pin terminal 110 is in close contact with the inner wall of the rear socket of the terminal within the entire thickness range; the elastic fitting section 152 is the section where the body of the pin terminal 110 and the elastic buckle 130 are in contact. It can be basically defined by the extension length of the elastic buckle 130 in the axial direction. The length of the rigid fitting section 151 plus the length of the elastic fitting section 152 is the total fitting length between the pin terminal and the connector housing. For example, if the length of the rigid fitting section is 7.8 mm and the length of the elastic fitting section is 6.3 mm, the total fitting length is 14.1 mm.

In practical application, the bolt 120 shown in FIG. 1A is rotated by a torque tool, so as to realize the wiring operation. However, in the process of using the torque tool, due to the transmission of the force exerted by the tool, the pin terminal 110 may be shaken in the housing, and the elastic buckle 130 will be deformed with the shaking of the pin. After the elastic buckle 130 is deformed, the amount of interference between the buckle and the pins will be reduced, thereby increasing the risk of the pins falling off. In addition, since the pin terminal 110 shakes greatly during the installation process, the accuracy of the loading torque will be affected, thereby affecting the reliability of the electrical connection.

Therefore, it would be desirable to develop a connector housing with an improved pin retention structure that improves the risk of failure due to pin terminal wobbling within the receptacle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention, a connector housing is provided, the connector housing defines a terminal channel for receiving a pin terminal, and includes a pin fixing structure for the pin terminal, which It is characterized in that, the pin fixing structure includes: a plurality of flexible positioning pieces distributed along the circumference of the terminal channel, the flexible positioning pieces are used for elastically engaging with the pin terminal; and a plurality of flexible positioning pieces along the terminal channel Several rigid positioning members are distributed in the circumferential direction, and the rigid positioning members are used for abutting with the pin terminal within a first predetermined length in the axial direction of the terminal channel, so as to limit the swing of the pin terminal.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, in the axial direction of the terminal passage, the length of the flexible positioning member and the first predetermined length at least partially overlap.

In a further embodiment of the above-mentioned connector housing, the plurality of flexible positioning members are a plurality of elastic buckles extending axially along the terminal channel, which are used for being clamped on the pin terminals for clamping. Slot structure.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the plurality of rigid positioning members are a plurality of rigid ribs extending axially along the terminal channel.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the inner wall of the elastic buckle and the inner wall of the rigid rib are co-circumferential.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the terminal channel is provided with an annular step for physically interfering with the positioning boss of the pin terminal to define the end of the insertion stroke of the pin terminal.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the elastic clip is a cantilever structure, the cantilever structure extends from the annular step, and the free end of the cantilever structure is provided with a radially inwardly protruding clip. The snap-on protrusion is used for snapping into the snap-in groove structure on the plug-in terminal.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the rigid rib extends from the annular step for providing physical contact to the plug terminal at an angular position different from the elastic snap.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the height of the rigid rib is greater than the height of the elastic buckle.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, around the axis of the terminal channel, the arc length of the rigid rib is smaller than the arc length of the elastic buckle.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, around the axis of the terminal channel, the arc length of the rigid rib is greater than the arc length of the elastic buckle.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the numbers of the rigid ribs and the elastic snaps are respectively greater than or equal to three.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the plurality of elastic buckles are evenly distributed along the circumference, and the plurality of rigid ribs are respectively established between adjacent elastic buckles.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the rigid ribs and the elastic buckles are arranged one by one at intervals.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, in the insertion depth of the pin terminal, the position to which the rigid rib axially extends exceeds the position where the elastic buckle is engaged with the pin terminal.

In a further embodiment of the above connector housing, the connector housing is a receptacle connector housing.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a connector kit is provided, which includes the above-mentioned connector housing; and a pin terminal, which includes a rear end for wiring, and a front end for inserting into the connector housing, The front end includes a positioning boss, a snap-fit section, and a plug-in connector section. The snap-fit section has an annular snap-in slot for snap-fit with the elastic snap-fit in the connector housing. When the pin terminal is inserted into the connector housing, the elastic buckle in the connector housing is locked and positioned with the slot on the front end of the pin terminal.

Description of drawings

In order to further clarify the various embodiments of the invention, a more specific description of the various embodiments of the invention will be presented with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is understood that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the scope of the invention as claimed.

In addition, it should be understood that the main, but not all, connections of various components are shown in the drawings, and the components and connections in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale in practice.

FIG. 1A shows a state after wiring of a receptacle connector for accommodating pin terminals, which is the background art of the present invention, is completed.

FIG. 1B shows a view from another perspective of the connector of FIG. 1A .

Figure 1C shows a view of the front end of the receptacle connector of Figure 1A.

FIG. 1D shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the receptacle connector of FIG. 1A .

FIG. 1E shows a partial enlarged view of the longitudinal section of FIG. 1D .

Figure 2 shows a pin terminal that can be used in the application of Figure 1A.

3 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a connector housing with a pin fixing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a front end view of the connector housing shown in FIG. 3, with the elastic snaps marked in particular.

FIG. 5 shows a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the connector housing after the pin terminal is installed according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the claimed subject matter may be practiced. It should be understood that the following specific embodiments are intended to specifically describe typical examples for the purpose of explanation, but should not be construed as limitations of the present invention; those skilled in the art can fully understand the spirit and spirit of the present invention. Appropriate modifications and adaptations are made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed subject matter.

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. However, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Unless otherwise defined, technical and scientific terms used herein shall have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

The terms "first", "second", etc. in the description and claims of this application do not imply any order, quantity, or importance, but are only used to distinguish between different components or features. An embodiment is an exemplary implementation or example. Reference in the specification to "an embodiment," "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "various embodiments," or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, configuration, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included herein at least some, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the technology. The various appearances of "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "some embodiments" are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments. Elements or aspects from one embodiment may be combined with elements or aspects from another embodiment.

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

First, referring to FIGS. 3-5 , a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 , the receptacle connector housing 300 includes a cavity open at both ends for receiving a pin terminal, such as the pin terminal 110 shown in FIG. 2 . The pin terminal 110 can be inserted from the rear end of the receptacle connector housing 300 with its plug segment 115 passing through the terminal channel 301 . An annular step 350 is provided in the terminal channel 301 for physically interfering with the positioning boss 113 of the pin terminal to define the end of the insertion stroke of the pin terminal 110 . Four elastic snaps 330 are distributed along the circumference of the terminal channel 301 and extend axially inward from the annular step 350 , and are used for matching with the snap-fit sections 114 on the pin terminal 110 . In addition to the elastic snaps 330, there are also rigid ribs 340 between adjacent elastic snaps, which also extend axially inward from the annular step 350 for providing physical contact and positioning with the plug-in terminal. Along the axial direction of the terminal channel 301 , the height of the rigid rib 340 is greater than the height of the elastic buckle 330 .

FIG. 4 shows a view of the front end (ie, the side opposite the rear end of the inserted pin) of the receptacle connector housing 300 shown in FIG. 3, through which the elastic snaps 330 and the rigid ribs can be seen Distribution of 340 along the circumference of the terminal channel 301 . The distance between each elastic buckle 330 is 90 degrees, and the distance between each rigid rib 340 is 90 degrees. As shown in FIG. 3 , the elastic buckle 330 has a cantilever structure, the cantilever generally extends axially, and a radially inwardly protruding clamping protrusion 335 is provided at the free end of the elastic buckle. The protrusions 335 are used for being snapped into the slot structure on the pin terminal 110 , so as to play the role of fixing the pin terminal. 3 , the inner wall of the elastic buckle 330 (excluding the clipping protrusions at its end) and the inner wall of the rigid rib 340 are co-circumferential, that is, their radial distances from the axis of the terminal channel 301 are equal.

Further referring to FIG. 5 , by arranging the pin fixing structure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 in the socket connector housing 300 , when the terminal pins 110 shown in FIG. 2 are inserted into the socket connector housing 300 , the snap-on protrusions 335 on the four elastic snaps 330 are snapped into the snap-fit structures 1141 of the snap-fit segments 114 on the pin terminals 110 , and at the same time, the inner walls of the rigid ribs 340 are also physically adjacent to the pin terminals 110 , thereby increasing the rigid mating length of the pin terminal 110 and the socket connector housing 300 .

Further compared with the situation shown in FIG. 1D , the rigid fitting length is further extended to the end of the rigid rib 340 on the basis of the depth of the rear socket of the terminal, for example, compared with the 7.8 mm of the existing product shown in FIG. 1E . Rigid fit length (D1 in Figure 5), the design of Figure 3 and Figure 4 raises the rigid fit length of the terminal pin to 14.9mm without changing the design of other mating parts and the outer contour size of the socket (Figure 4). D2 in 5). Since in the axial direction of the terminal channel 301, the length of the elastic snap 330 at least partially coincides with the rigid fitting length D2, the rigid fitting and the flexible fitting are applied to the front end portion of the pin terminal 110 in combination, and in this way, The shaking of the pin terminal can be suppressed, which can be embodied as reducing the maximum deflection angle between the pin terminal and the housing under the condition that the mating gap between the pin terminal 110 and the socket connector housing 300 is the same.

In an optional embodiment, the rigid rib 340 can exceed the elastic buckle 330 in height, so the deformation of the elastic buckle can be further prevented or restrained during the installation process of the client, thereby reducing the needle drop caused by the deformation of the elastic buckle risk.

In the above embodiments, the details about the plug terminals and the rigid ribs are only examples. As a feasible modification example, in terms of the insertion depth of the pin terminal, the position where the rigid rib extends axially exceeds the position where the elastic buckle and the pin terminal are clamped.

In the above embodiments, "rigid rib" or "rib" is understood to mean that the rib structure is different from the cantilever structure of the elastic buckle, and thus does not generally have the physical property of being easily elastically deformed like the elastic buckle. Therefore, its "rigidity" should be widely understood as various structural rigidities stronger than the cantilever structure, rather than absolute rigidity.

In the above embodiment, the pin terminal 110 shown in FIG. 2 is used, and the socket connector housing 300 with four elastic snaps 330 and four rigid ribs 340 is used as shown in FIG. 4 . It can be understood that the pin terminal is not limited to the structure shown in FIG. 2 , but can adopt any terminal having a snap-fit segment matched with the elastic snap; it can also be understood that the pin fixing structure of the socket connector housing is not limited to Four elastic snaps and four rigid ribs, but could be any plural number of elastic snaps and rigid ribs, eg, two elastic snaps and two rigid ribs. In some variations, the number of elastic snaps and rigid ribs may be different, for example, four elastic snaps and two rigid ribs; further, the connector housing is not limited to the socket connector housing, but can be Any suitable type of connector housing for accommodating pin terminals (hence the need for terminal stabilization structures).

In the above embodiment, the use of the elastic snaps is only a specific example of the present invention. It can be understood that several elastic snaps can be reasonably extended as several flexible positioning members distributed along the circumferential direction of the terminal channel. The positioning member is used for elastic snap connection with the pin terminal. Likewise, the use of rigid ribs is only a specific example of the present invention, and it can be understood that several rigid ribs can be reasonably extended as several rigid positioning members distributed along the circumference of the terminal channel. The terminal and the pin terminal abut each other within a first predetermined length in the axial direction of the terminal channel. In the axial direction of the terminal channel, the length of the flexible positioning member at least partially coincides with the first predetermined length, so that the rigid fit and the flexible fit are applied in combination to the front end portion of the pin terminal. In this way, the shaking of the pin terminal can be better suppressed, and the maximum deflection angle between the pin terminal and the housing can be reduced; Within a predetermined length, the rigid positioning member further effectively limits the swing of the pin terminal.

The basic concept of the present invention has been described above. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, the above disclosure is only an example, and does not constitute a limitation to the present application. Although not explicitly described herein, various modifications, improvements, and corrections to this application may occur to those skilled in the art. Such modifications, improvements, and corrections are suggested in the present application, so such modifications, improvements, and corrections still belong to the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims (17)

1. A connector housing defining a terminal passage provided for receiving a pin terminal and including a pin securing structure for the pin terminal, the pin securing structure comprising:

the flexible positioning pieces are circumferentially distributed along the terminal channel and used for being elastically clamped with the pin terminal; and

the rigid positioning pieces are circumferentially distributed along the terminal channel and used for being mutually abutted with the pin terminal within a first preset length in the axial direction of the terminal channel so as to limit the swinging of the pin terminal.

2. The connector housing of claim 1, wherein a length of the flexible positioning member and the first predetermined length at least partially coincide in a terminal passage axial direction.

3. The connector housing of claim 2, wherein said plurality of flexible retention members are a plurality of resilient snaps extending axially along said terminal passages for snapping into snap-fit detent structures on said pin terminals.

4. The connector housing of claim 3, wherein the plurality of rigid retention members are a plurality of rigid ribs extending axially along the terminal channels.

5. The connector housing of claim 4, wherein an inner wall of the resilient catch and an inner wall of the rigid rib are co-circumferential.

6. The connector housing as recited in claim 4, wherein the terminal passage has an annular step therein for physically interfering with the locating boss of the pin terminal to define the end of the insertion stroke of the pin terminal.

7. The connector housing of claim 6, wherein the resilient latch is a cantilevered structure extending from the annular step, and a free end of the cantilevered structure is provided with a radially inwardly projecting latch projection for latching into a latch recess on the mating terminal.

8. The connector housing of claim 7, wherein said rigid ribs extend from said annular step for providing physical contact to said jack terminals at different angular positions than said resilient catches.

9. The connector housing of claim 8, wherein the height of the rigid ribs is greater than the height of the resilient snaps.

10. The connector housing of claim 9, wherein an arcuate length of the rigid ribs is less than an arcuate length of the resilient catches about an axis of the terminal channels.

11. The connector housing of claim 9, wherein an arcuate length of the rigid ribs is greater than an arcuate length of the resilient catches about an axis of the terminal channels.

12. The connector housing of claim 1, wherein the number of rigid ribs and the number of elastic snaps are each greater than or equal to three.

13. The connector housing as claimed in claim 4, wherein the plurality of resilient latches are evenly distributed along a circumference, and the plurality of rigid ribs are respectively established between adjacent resilient latches.

14. A connector housing according to claim 4, wherein the rigid ribs and the resilient catches are spaced one from the other.

15. The connector housing of claim 4, wherein the rigid ribs extend axially beyond the point where the resilient latches snap-fit into engagement with the pin terminals over the depth of insertion of the pin terminals.

16. The connector housing of claim 1, wherein the connector housing is a receptacle connector housing.

17. A connector kit, comprising:

the connector housing of any one of claims 1-16; and

the pin terminal comprises a tail end for wiring and a front end for inserting into the connector shell, the front end comprises a positioning boss, a clamping section and an inserting head section, the clamping section is provided with an annular clamping groove for clamping and matching with an elastic buckle in the connector shell,

when the pin terminal is inserted into the connector shell, the elastic buckle in the connector shell is clamped and positioned with the clamping groove in the clamping section at the front end of the pin terminal.

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