Patent Application
20240097373
This is a non-provisional application that claims priority to Chinese application number 202222509753.8, filing date Sep. 21, 2022, the entire contents of each of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector for use on a Christmas tree, wherein the electrical connector can be conveniently and rapidly assembled and disassembled in a safe manner.
Artificial Christmas trees have widely been used for celebrating Christmas. People have decorated artificial Christmas trees by using a wide variety of illuminating devices. Those illuminating devices may generate illumination of different colors and patterns. Conventional illuminating devices for Christmas trees, such as artificial Christmas tree may comprise a plurality of illuminators connected by flexible cables. The flexible cables may be attached on different branches of the Christmas tree so as to allow the entire Christmas tree to have an illuminating effect.
As to the electrical connections of these illuminating devices, there exist broadly two types of connecting assembling. The first type of connecting assemblies usually comprises a first connector and a second connector detachably connected to each other. Each of the first connector and the second connector may be connected to a certain number of illuminators and is usually attached to the Christmas tree and exposed to ambient environment. The disadvantage of this type of connecting assemblies is that a user may accidentally come into contact with the electrical terminals provided on the first connector and the second connector and this poses electrical hazard to users who are decorating the Christmas tree or even to children who accidentally detach the first and the second connector due to curiosity.
The second type of connecting assemblies usually comprises a socket body having both a positive terminal and a negative terminal. The problem with this type of connecting assemblies is that it poses a substantial risk of electrical hazards. For example, of small metallic objects, such as small screw, are accidentally disposed in the socket body and come into contact with both the positive terminal and the negative terminal, short circuit may occur, and this may in turn cause fire from the socket body.
As a result, there is a need to develop an electrical connector which is safe and convenient for use in Christmas trees, such as artificial Christmas trees.
An objective of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector for use on a Christmas tree, wherein the electrical connector can be conveniently and rapidly assembled and disassembled in a safe manner.
In one aspect of the present invention, it provides an electrical connector for a Christmas tree having a hollow tube structure, comprising:
This summary presented above is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not to identify any key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.
The following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is the preferred mode of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be taken in any limiting sense. It is presented for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention.
It should be appreciated that the terms “install”, “connect”, “couple”, and “mount” in the following description refer to the connecting relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of the present invention. For example, the connection can refer to permanent connection or detachable connection. Furthermore, “connected” may also mean direct connection or indirect connection, or connection through other auxiliary components. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual connection limitation of the elements of the present invention.
It should be appreciated that the terms “length”, “width”, “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, vertical”, “horizontal”, “upper”, “lower”, “exterior”, and “interior” in the following description refer to the orientation or positioning relationship in the accompanying drawings for easy understanding of the present invention without limiting the actual location or orientation of the present invention. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual location limitation of the elements of the present invention.
It should be appreciated that the terms “first”, “second”, “one”, “a”, and “an” in the following description refer to “at least one” or “one or more” in the embodiment. In particular, the term “a” in one embodiment may refer to “one” while in another embodiment may refer to “more than one”. Therefore, the above terms should not be an actual numerical limitation of the elements of the present invention.
Referring to
The first electrical connector body 10, the second electrical connector body 20, the first outer connector 30, and the second outer connector 40 are coaxially arranged to form an elongated structure. The first electrical connector body 10 is detachably connected to the second electrical connector body 20. The first outer connector 30 is detachably connected to the first electrical connector body 10 at a position opposite to the second electrical connector body 20. Similarly, the second outer connector 40 is detachably connected to the second electrical connector body 20 at a position opposite to the first electrical connector body 10.
Thus, as shown in
The first electrical connector body 10 may be configured from electrical insulating material, such as plastic material, and may have a tubular structure having a receiving cavity 102 formed therein. According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first electrical connector body 10 further have a first opening 103 and an end plate 101 formed on two ends thereof respectively, wherein are receiving cavity 102 is formed in a space between the first opening 102 and the end plate 101. Moreover, the first electrical connector body 10 further has a first connecting rim 17, in which the first outer connector 30 is detachably connected to the first electrical connector body 10 through the first connecting rim 17.
As shown in
The first electrical connector body 10 further comprises an annular negative terminal 14 and an annular positive terminal 13. An outer diameter of the annular positive terminal 13 is corresponding to an inner diameter of the inner securing ring 11, so that the annular positive terminal 13 can be received in the space surrounded by the inner securing ring 11 and is fittedly engaged thereon.
On the other hand, the outer diameter of the annular negative terminal 14 is corresponding to an inner diameter of the outer securing ring 12, so that the annular negative terminal 14 can be received in the space between the inner securing ring 11 and the outer securing ring 12 and is fittedly engaged thereon.
As shown in
As shown in
The end plate 101 further has a plurality of through first elongated slots 1011 and a plurality of through second elongated slots 1012. The first elongated slots 1011 are positioned corresponding to the negative terminal legs 142 respectively so that the negative terminal legs 142 are allowed to penetrate the end plate 101 through the first elongated slots 1011 so as to electrically connect to the negative terminal adapter 15. Similarly, the second elongated slots 1012 are positioned corresponding to the live terminal legs 132 respectively so that the live terminal legs 132 are allowed to penetrate the end plate 101 through the second elongated slots 1012 so as to electrical connect to the live terminal adapter 16.
Moreover, the end plate 101 further has a first connecting tube 18 and a plurality of first connecting flanges 19 extending from the end plate 101 in a direction toward the first outer connector 30. The first connecting tube 18 is arranged to allow electrical wires to pass from the first electrical connector body 10 to the second electrical connector body 20. The first connecting flange 19 are adapted for mounting to the second electrical connector body 20 (described below).
As shown in
In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the annular positive terminal 13 is arranged to be secured on the inner securing ring 11 in such a manner that the annular positive terminal body 131 is secured on the first longitudinal portion 115 of the inner securing ring 11 while the live terminal legs 132 extend toward the first contracted portion 114 and pass through the first guiding slots 112 respectively. The position of the annular positive terminal body 131 is secured or limited by the first securing ridge 111 of the inner securing ring 11. The live terminal legs 132 is arranged to extend through the first guiding slots 112 and penetrate the first elongated slots 1011 respectively and electrically connect to the live terminal adapter 16. The live terminal adapter 16 may be mounted on the outer side of the end plate 101 by conventional mechanisms.
Similarly, the outer securing ring 12 has a second longitudinal portion 125 and a second contracted portion 124 having smaller internal diameter than that of the second longitudinal portion 125 to form a second securing ridge 121 between the first longitudinal portion 115 and the first contracted portion 114 for securing the position of the annular positive terminal 13. Moreover, the outer securing ring 12 further has a plurality of second guiding slots 122 longitudinally formed on an inner surface of the outer securing ring 12 at the second contracted portion 124, wherein the second guiding slots 122 are arranged to communicate with the second elongated slots 1012 of the end plate 101 respectively.
The annular negative terminal 14 is arranged to be secured on the outer securing ring 12 in such a manner that the negative terminal ring body 141 is secured on the second longitudinal portion 125 of the outer securing ring 12 while the negative terminal legs 142 extend toward the second contracted portion 124 and pass through the second guiding slots 122 respectively. The position of the negative terminal ring body 141 is secured or limited by the second securing ridge 121 of the outer securing ring 12. The negative terminal legs 142 is arranged to extend through the second guiding slots 122 and penetrate the second elongated slots 1012 respectively and electrically connect to the negative terminal adapter 15. The negative terminal adapter 15 may be mounted on the outer side of the end plate 101 by conventional mechanisms.
Referring to
The multiple ring member 22 of the second electrical connector body 20 comprises an inner annular member 221, an outer annular member 223 and a middle annular member 222 positioned between the inner annular member 221 and the outer annular member 223. Each of the inner annular member 221, the middle annular member 222, and the outer annular member 223 has a tubular structure and has a circular cross sectional shape when viewed from the longitudinal direction of the first electrical connector body 10. Moreover, a diameter of the outer annular member 223 is larger than that of the middle annular member 222, but smaller than a diameter of the connecting base 21. A diameter of the middle annular member 222 is larger than that of the inner annular member 221. The connecting base 21, the outer annular member 223, the middle annular member 222 and the inner annular member 221 are concentrically arranged and extend toward the first electrical connector body 10. These structures are illustrated in FIG. 5 of the drawings. The second electrical connector body 20 may also be configured from electrical insulating material, such as plastic material.
The second electrical connector body 20 further comprises a negative terminal holder 214, a live terminal holder 215, a neutral wire holder 216, a second connecting tube 217, a negative terminal 23 secured on the negative terminal holder 214, a live terminal 24 secured on the live terminal holder 215, and a neutral terminal 25 secured on the neutral wire holder 216. In order to ensure maximum safety of the present invention, the negative terminal 23, the live terminal 24 and the neutral terminal 25 are physically separated by an insulating wall 213.
The second electrical connector body 20 further comprises a second connecting flange 212 extending from the connecting base 21 to connect to the second outer connector 40. As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first outer connector 30 may be configured to have a substantially tubular structure corresponding to that of the first electrical connector body 10. The first outer connector 30 has a first tubular body 30A and a second tubular body 30B. The first tubular body 30A and the second tubular body 30B are connected to form the substantially tubular structure of the first outer connector 30. The connection between the first tubular body 30A and the second tubular body 30B may be accomplished through screws and a first threaded hole 34 provided on the second tubular body 30B. The first outer connector 30 is arranged to be detachably mounted on the artificial Christmas tree through a first mounting slot 31 and a first mounting hole 32. The first outer connector 30 is connected to the first electrical connector body 10 through mounting on the first connecting flanges 19. As shown in
Referring to
Referring to
The operation of the present invention is as follows: a user may first connect the first tubular body 30A to the second tubular body 30B to form an integral first outer connector 30. Similarly, the user may also connect the third tubular body 40A to the fourth tubular body 40B to form an integral second outer connector 40. After that, the first outer connector 30 may be connected to the first electrical connector body 10 through engaging the third connecting rim 33 with the first connecting rim 17. The second outer connector 40 may be connected to the second electrical connector body 20 through engaging the fourth connecting rim 43 with the second connecting rim 211 to form the electrical connector 100 of the present invention.
The electrical connector 100 of the present invention may be mounted in a tubular structure (such as a branch) of an artificial Christmas tree for supplying power to the relevant lighting devices. When some electrical components are out of order, a user may conveniently detach the relevant electrical connector 100 from the artificial Christmas tree and perform the necessary repair. After that the electrical connector 100 may be mounted back to the artificial Christmas tree.
Referring to
The difference between the alternative mode and the preferred embodiment described above is that the inner securing ring 11 of the first electrical connector body 10 has a uniform diameter throughout a longitudinal direction. Moreover, the first electrical connector body 10 further comprise a plurality of securing protrusions 113 outwardly extending from an outer surface of the inner securing ring 11, wherein the annular positive terminal 13 is arranged to be secured on the outer surface of the inner securing ring 11, in such a manner that the live terminal legs 132 are secured to the securing protrusions 113 and penetrate through the end plate 101 to connect to the live terminal adapter 16 mounted on an outer side of the end plate 101.
In this alternative mode of the preferred embodiment, the outer securing ring 12 also has a uniform diameter throughout a longitudinal direction, wherein the annular negative terminal 14 is secured on an inner surface of the outer securing ring 12, in such a manner that the annular negative terminal body 141 is secured to bias against the end plate 101, while the negative terminal legs 142 are arranged to penetrate through the end plate 101 to electrically connect to the negative terminal adapter 15 mounted on an outer side of the end plate 101.
As shown in
The present invention, while illustrated and described in terms of a preferred embodiment and several alternatives, is not limited to the particular description contained in this specification. Additional alternative or equivalent components could also be used to practice the present invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202222509753.8 | Sep 2022 | CN | national |
