This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 109137215 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Oct. 23, 2020, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present disclosure relates to the technical field of connectors. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a circular connector with the feature of non-directional electrical connections.
In general, a conventional connector includes a male head and a female seat, and the male head is combined with the female seat to achieve the effect of transmitting power and signals.
To achieve the aforementioned effect, the combination is usually performed within the range of an operator's sight in order to confirm the positions of the male head and the female seat and then use a mechanical design such as a lead angle and an inclined plane of the connector to assist the combination of the male head and the female seat.
However, in the application of some electronic products, it is uneasy to achieve the electrical connection simply by watching the condition of the male head and/or the female seat, that is, the conventional connector does not have the so-called “blind insertion” function to be inserted between the male head and the female seat. In particular, the conventional connector is usually directional, and if the connector is inserted rashly in a wrong direction, it may damage the male head and the female seat, or even may cause damages to the back-end electronic product.
Although the conventional connector may come with a fool-proof design to prevent incorrect insertions, it is still very easy to damage the aforementioned structure due to an excessive force applied in the incorrect insertion, particularly when the connector is miniaturized.
In view of the aforementioned drawbacks of the conventional connector, this disclosure provides a circular connector to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art.
Therefore, it is a first objective of the present disclosure to provide a circular connector having a male head and a female seat with a blind insertion function for non-directional connections.
A second objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a circular structure for the male head and the female seat separately, and each circular structure provides a corresponding electrode group, and the combined circular structures allow the electrode group to achieve the effect of transmitting at least one of the power and control signal between the male head and the female seat.
A third objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to adjust and design the quantity of electrode groups of the circular structures according to actual product application requirements.
A further objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a design that allows the electrode group of each of the circular structures to have independent modes for transmitting the power and/or transmitting the control signals.
A fifth objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a design that allows the electrodes of an electrode group of the circular structure to have a mixed mode for transmitting the power and the control signals simultaneously.
A sixth objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a design having a same or different quantity of electrodes in the electrode group of each circular structure, and the installation positions of the electrode groups between the circular structures can be designed with a symmetrical or asymmetrical configuration.
A seventh objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a design having an equal or unequal distance between the electrodes of each electrode group.
An eighth objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a design of an electrode group with a floating structure in the circular structure, so as to achieve an effective blind insertion of the male head with the female seat.
A ninth objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a design of a plurality of circular structures and a method of covering small-size circular structures by large-size circular structures, such as the concentric architecture.
A tenth objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to provide a male head having a first circular body, a third circular body, a first electrode group and a third electrode group.
An eleventh objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to a female seat having a first base, a second circular body, a fourth circular body, a second base, a second electrode group and a fourth electrode group.
A twelfth objective of the present disclosure is based on the aforementioned circular connector to apply the circular connector in the fields of display devices, motor vehicles, or any other devices requiring an electrical connection.
To achieve the foregoing and other objectives, the present disclosure discloses a circular connector applied to a first circuit board and a second circuit board. The circular connector comprises a male head and a female seat. The male head can be coupled to the first circuit board. The male head comprises a first circular body, a third circular body, a first electrode group and a third electrode group. The third circular body is stacked on first circular body. A first slot is formed at the inner periphery of the first circular body for installing a first terminal of the first electrode group. A third slot is formed at the inner periphery of the third circular body for installing a second terminal of the first electrode group. A fifth slot is formed at the outer periphery of the first circular body for installing a first terminal of the third electrode group. A seventh slot is formed at the outer periphery of the third circular body for installing a second terminal of the third electrode group. The female seat can be coupled to the second circuit board. The female seat comprises a first base, a second circular body, a fourth circular body, a second base, a second electrode group and a fourth electrode group. The second base, the fourth circular body, the second circular body and the first base are sequentially arranged from a center point of the female seat towards the outside. A second electrode group is disposed between the first base and the second circular body, and a fourth electrode group is disposed between the fourth circular body and the second base. In addition, a second slot is formed on the second circular body for installing the first terminal of the second electrode group, and a fourth slot is formed on the fourth circular body for installing a first terminal of the fourth electrode group. Wherein, the second slot is configured to be corresponsive to the seventh slot and the fourth slot is configured to be corresponsive to the third slot, and at least one of the second electrode group and the fourth electrode group has a floating structure. Wherein, after the male head is combined with the female seat, the third circular body is inserted between the second circular body and the fourth circular body, so that the second terminal of the third electrode group is electrically coupled to the first terminal of the second electrode group, and the second terminal of the first electrode group is electrically coupled to the first terminal of the fourth electrode group.
To achieve the foregoing and other objectives, the present disclosure discloses a male head of a circular connector, and the male head comprises a first circular body, a third circular body, a first electrode group and a third electrode group. A first slot is formed at the inner periphery of the first circular body and a fifth slot formed at the outer periphery of the first circular body. The third circular body is stacked on the first circular body. The third circular body has a third slot and a seventh slot formed at the inner periphery of the third circular body. The first terminal of the first electrode group is installed into the first slot and the second terminal of the first electrode group is installed into the third slot. The first terminal of the third electrode group is installed into the fifth slot and the second terminal of the third electrode group is installed into the seventh slot.
To achieve the foregoing and other objectives, the present disclosure discloses a female seat of a circular connector, the female seat comprises a first base, a second circular body, a fourth circular body, a second base, a second electrode group and a fourth electrode group. The second circular body is disposed in the first base. A second slot is formed on the second circular body. The fourth circular body is disposed in the second circular body. A fourth slot is formed on the fourth circular body. The second base is disposed in the fourth circular body. The second electrode group is disposed between the first base and the second circular body, and the first terminal of the second electrode group is installed into the second slot. Wherein, the second electrode group has a floating structure. The fourth electrode group is disposed between the fourth circular body and the second base, and the first terminal of the fourth electrode group is installed into the fourth slot. Wherein, the fourth electrode group has a floating structure. Wherein, the second base, the fourth circular body, the second circular body and the first base are sequentially arranged from a center point of the female seat towards the outside.
Compared with the prior art, the present disclosure provides a circular connector with the effect of non-directional connections that provides extreme convenience for users and/or operators. For designers, hundreds of terminals (which are called electrodes in the specification of this disclosure) are installed in a limited space, and the present disclosure provides a circular connector with a design of transmitting power and control signals simultaneously as well as a design of transmitting the power and control signals independently, so that the designers can offer more complicated and high-end applications to users by means of the design of more terminals and simultaneous and independent transmissions of the terminals.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
With reference to
In
With reference to
Both of the first circular body 122 and the third circular body 124 are circular rings, and the diameter of the first circular body 122 is greater than the diameter of the third circular body 124. In this embodiment, the third circular body 124 is stacked on the first circular body 122, so that the third circular body 124 protrudes from the first circular body 122 (as shown in
Back to
In addition to the aforementioned seventh slot 1244 formed at the outer periphery of the third circular body 124, the third slot 1242 is formed at the inner periphery of the third circular body 124 and provided for installing the second terminal 1264 of the first electrode group 126.
Wherein, the quantity of fifth slots 1224 and seventh slots 1244 is greater than or equal to the quantity of third electrode groups 128; and the quantity of first slots 1222 and third slots 1242 is greater than or equal to the quantity of first electrode groups 126.
With reference to
With reference to
In addition, the second electrode group 1410 is composed of a plurality of second electrodes. The range of a minimum angle included between the second electrodes starting from a center point O (which is the center) of the second circular body 144 is related to the solder size of the second terminal 14104 of the second electrode group 1410 soldered on the second circuit board 4. In short, as long as there is no interference or short circuit occurred between the adjacent second terminals 14104 of the second electrode group 1410 during the soldering process, the minimum angle θ1 included between two adjacent second terminals 14104 of the second electrode group 1410 can approach zero degree, and thus the range of the minimum angles θ1 is greater than or equal to 7 degrees.
With reference to
The fourth electrode group 1412 is composed of a plurality of fourth electrodes. The range of a minimum angle included between the fourth electrodes starting from a center point O (which is the center) of fourth circular body 146 is related to the solder size of the second terminal 14124 of the fourth electrode group 1412 soldered on the second circuit board 4. In short, as long as there is no interference or short circuit occurred between the adjacent second terminals 14124 of the fourth electrode group 1412 during the soldering process, the minimum angle θ2 included between two adjacent second terminals 14124 of the fourth second electrode group 1412 can approach zero degree, and thus the range of the minimum angle θ2 is greater than or equal to the aforementioned range of minimum angles θ1.
The quantity of second electrode groups 1410 of the aforementioned second circular body 144 is greater than or equal to the quantity of fourth electrode groups 1412 of the fourth circular body 146, and the arranged position of the second electrode of the second electrode group 1410 and the arranged position of the fourth electrode of the fourth electrode group 1412 can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. For example, a first bump group 1444 and a second bump group 1464 as shown in
Besides the quantity and the installation position, the first electrode group 126 and the third electrode 128 provide an independent mode of transmitting the power signal and control signal to each other, and the second electrode group 1410 and the fourth electrode 1412 provide an independent mode of transmitting the power signal and control signal to each other, and the first electrode group 126 or the third electrode group 128 provides a mixed mode of transmitting the power signal and control signal simultaneously, and the second electrode group 1410 or the fourth electrode group 1412 provides a mixed mode of transmitting the power signal and control signal simultaneously.
With reference to
The description of the first base 142, the second circular body 144, the fourth circular body 146, the second base 148, the second electrode group 1410 and the fourth electrode group 1412 is the same as the description above, and thus will not be repeated.
The first cover 16 is provided for covering the floating structure of the second electrode group 1410.
The second cover 18 is provided for covering the floating structure of the fourth electrode group 1412.
The first bump group is disposed at the outer periphery of the second circular body 144 for installing and positioning the first cover 16.
The second bump group 1464 is installed at the inner periphery of the fourth circular body 146 for installing and positioning the second cover 18.
With reference to
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