Patent Application
20240154371
The present disclosure is generally related to an electrical connector, and more specifically, to an electrical connector for electrically contacting to a power supply terminal.
In the related art, there are connectors in which the power supply terminal includes an elastic tubular member including a metal and capable of elastic displacement in a direction of a radius thereof, such that the power supply terminal is able to tilt toward any angle in a circumferential direction around an axis thereof or able to move in the direction of the radius.
Further, in some conventional connectors, the contact lamellae of the terminal is made by press working.
However, in the press working, a joint is formed in the cylindrical part, and solder flows in through the gap.
Thus, there is an unmet need for an electrical connector for a joint in a terminal such that solder does not flow into the space inside a terminal.
Further, applying materials with good elasticity to support the terminal would result in poor electrical conductivity, but since they are used only for spring support, conductivity is irrelevant.
The subject invention is an electrical connector for electrically contacting to a power supply terminal.
Aspects of the present disclosure involve an electrical connector for electrically contacting to a terminal, in which the electrical connector includes a plurality of plates encircling an insertion space of the terminal, and a ring encircling the plates to insert an elastic force on the plates. The plates have a predetermined electrical conductivity to carry electric power to the terminal. The ring has a less electrical conductivity than the electrical conductivity of the plates, and more elasticity than elasticity of the plates.
Aspects of the present disclosure further involve a method of making an electrical connector for electrically contacting to a terminal, including cutting a plurality of plates, arranging the plates to encircle an insertion space of the terminal, and inserting a ring to encircle the plates to insert an elastic force on the plates. The plates have a predetermined electrical conductivity to carry electric power to the terminal. The ring has a less electrical conductivity than the electrical conductivity of the plates, and more elasticity than elasticity of the plates.
With the exemplary aspects of the present disclosure, an electrical connector can be provided with a material having good conductivity with has less elasticity (i.e., poor spring characteristics), such that a high current can flow through the electrical connector. Further, since terminals are manufactured by cutting, when solder is mounted (reflow) in a through hole, solder does not flow into the space inside the terminal.
A general architecture that implements the various features of the disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. The drawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrate example implementations of the disclosure and not to limit the scope of the disclosure. Throughout the drawings, reference numbers are reused to indicate correspondence between referenced elements.
FIG. TA illustrates an example connected side view of an electrical connector electrically contacting to a terminal, in accordance with an example implementation.
The following detailed description provides further details of the figures and example implementations of the present application. Reference numerals and descriptions of redundant elements between figures are omitted for clarity. Terms used throughout the description are provided as examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, sequential terminology, such as “first”, “second”, “third”, etc., may be used in the description and claims simply for labeling purposes and should not be limited to referring to described actions or items occurring in the described sequence. Actions or items may be ordered into a different sequence or may be performed in parallel or dynamically, without departing from the scope of the present application.
Example implementations described herein involve an electrical connector for electrically contacting to a power supply terminal.
As shown in the cross-sectional view of
As shown in the cross-sectional view of
The plurality of plates 14 encircle an insertion space of the terminal 11, and ring 10 encircles the plates 14 to insert an elastic force on the plates 14.
In an exemplary aspect, ring 10 may include a C-ring with a gap in a circumferential direction of the plates 14.
Ring 10 has a less electrical conductivity than the electrical conductivity of the plates 14, such that plates 14 have a good conductivity and a poor elasticity (i.e., spring characteristics).
The material of plates 14 may be, for example, C1100 (pure copper) or C1450 (tellurium), such that a large current can flow.
Conventional connectors have a thin crown contact (t=0.2 mm), and since the spring material (C7025-TM04) is used, the conductivity is about 45%.
An exemplary aspect of the present electrical connector, depending on cutting level and spring design, may have a crown contact t=0.5 mm with a conductivity of about 100% to connect a material with good conductivity so that a large current can flow.
Ring 10 has more elasticity than the elasticity of the plates 14, and a less conductivity than the conductivity of plates 14. The material of ring 10 may be, for example, SUS631 (stainless steel). In an exemplary embodiment, the material of ring 10 may be an “insulator (non-conductor)” having a very low dielectric constant.
The groves 15 are disposed towards an end portion of the plates forming a connection area for the male terminal 11 to receive the female terminal 12 in an axial direction of the electrical connector 16.
Ring 10 engages in the grooves 15 of the plates 14 to insert elastic force on the plates in a radial direction of the electrical connector 16 to tighten connections of the male terminal 11 to the female terminal 12.
In the conventional connectors, based on the shape of a drum of a terminal, it does not collide with pins even if they move to left and right.
In an exemplary aspect of the present invention, since the insulating case 13 protrudes near the contact point, the pin does not collide with the pin of the terminal even if the pin moves from side to side.
Terminals are manufactured by cutting. Therefore, As shown in
In the case of conventional press working, a joint is formed in the cylindrical part, and solder flows in through the gap.
As shown in
Since the contact points 24 shown in
In addition, multiple contact points are possible by providing multiple unevenness. Multiple contacts increase contact reliability. In particular, such machining can be done easily by cutting.
Another exemplary aspect of the present disclosure is directed to a method of making an electrical connector for electrically contacting to a terminal.
As shown in
The plates 14 have a predetermined electrical conductivity to carry electric power to the male terminal 11.
The ring 10 has a less electrical conductivity than the electrical conductivity of the plates 14, and more elasticity than elasticity of the plates 14.
The plates 14 may include copper or tellurium. The ring 10 may include stainless steel. The electrical conductivity of the plates can be 100%.
The method further includes forming a groove 15 in each of the plates 14 for insertion of the ring 10.
The ring 10 may be c-shaped with a gap provided on opposing end surfaces of the ring 10 in a circumferential direction of the ring 10.
The method further includes placing the electrical connector 16 in a housing with an insulative case 13 that protrudes adjacent to a contact point of the male terminal 11 with the plates 14, and a terminal receptacle, as a female terminal 12, which is disposed between insulative case 13 and the electrical connector 16 to hold the electrical connector 16 and the male terminal 11.
The method further includes cutting through side surfaces of each of the plates 14 along a longitudinal direction of the plates 14 to provide multiple contact areas 24 for contacting to the male terminal 11 on opposing sides of a cut 23 on each of the plates 24, as shown in
While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the description herein of specific embodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.
The foregoing detailed description has set forth various example implementations of the devices and/or processes via the use of diagrams, schematics, and examples. Insofar as such diagrams, schematics, and examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, each function and/or operation within such diagrams, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of structures. While certain example implementations have been described, these implementations have been presented by way of example only and are not intended to limit the scope of the protection. Indeed, the novel methods and apparatuses described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the devices and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the protection. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the protection.
