Patent Application
20230216232
This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. CN202111666804.1 filed on Dec. 31, 2021, in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a hybrid connector housing, a hybrid connector including the hybrid connector housing and a connector assembly including the hybrid connector.
According to the prior art, connectors for laser radar systems generally include a housing, a power supply terminal provided in the housing for transmitting power, and an Ethernet signal terminal for transmitting an Ethernet signal. In order to prevent electromagnetic interference, it is necessary to set a shield connection member outside the Ethernet signal terminal. The shield connection member needs to be inserted into the mating shield connection member of the mating connector. Therefore, the housing is usually designed to include two separate sub housings, with the Ethernet signal terminal arranged in one sub housing, and the power supply terminal and other signal terminals arranged in another sub housing. Designing the housing as two separate sub housings will not only increase the cost of the connector, but also make it difficult to assemble.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a hybrid connector housing comprises an inner housing including a rear housing, and a first sub housing and a second sub housing each formed integrally with the rear housing. The first sub housing is sized to accommodate a first cable assembly, and includes a rear end connected to a front side of the rear housing. The second sub housing is sized to accommodate a second cable assembly and a third cable assembly. A rear end of the second sub housing is connected to the front side of the rear housing. The first sub housing and the second sub housing are arranged side by side.
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a hybrid connector housing comprises an inner housing. The inner housing includes a rear housing, a first sub housing, a rear end of which is connected to the front side of the rear housing, and a second sub housing, a rear end of which is connected to the front side of the rear housing. The first sub housing is adapted to accommodate a first cable assembly of a connector, and the second sub housing is adapted to accommodate a second cable assembly and a third cable assembly of the connector. The first sub housing and the second sub housing are arranged side by side, and the inner housing is embodied as an integral part.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a hybrid connector housing comprises of a rear housing, a first sub housing having a rear end connected to the front side of the rear housing, and a second sub housing having a rear end connected to the front side of the rear housing. The first sub housing is provided with a first terminal cavity which continuously extends and passes through the rear housing for receiving a first cable assembly of a connector. The second sub housing is provided with a second terminal cavity and a third terminal cavity which continuously extend and pass through the rear housing, for respectively accommodating a second cable assembly and a third cable assembly of the connector. The first sub housing and the second sub housing are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance to form an avoiding slot between the first sub housing and the second sub housing that allows a mating shield connection member of the mating connector to pass through.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a hybrid connector comprises the above hybrid connector housing, a first cable assembly inserted into the first sub housing of the hybrid connector housing, and a second cable assembly and a third cable assembly inserted into the second sub housing of the hybrid connector housing. The first cable assembly is used to transmit a first signal, the second cable assembly is used to transmit a second signal different from the first signal, and the third cable assembly is used to transmit power.
The first cable assembly 1 includes a first cable 10, a first terminal 11, a terminal holder 12, and a shield connection member 13. The first terminal 11 is connected to the first cable 10. The first terminal 11 is held in the terminal holder 12. One end 13a of the shield connection member 13 is fixed to the terminal holder 12, and the other end 13b is electrically connected to the shield layer of the first cable 10. The second cable assembly 2 includes a second cable 20 and a second terminal 21, and the second terminal 21 is connected to the second cable 20. The third cable assembly 3 includes a third cable 30 and a third terminal 31, and the third terminal 31 is connected to the third cable 30. Each of the first cable assembly 1, the second cable assembly 2, and the third cable assembly 3 can be simultaneously inserted into the inner housing 100, easing the assembly processes.
As shown in
The inner housing 100 further includes a connecting plate 105. The connecting plate 105 is connected between the front ends of the first sub housing 110 and the second sub housing 120 and is located at a position that does not interfere with the mating shield connection member. In this way, the strength of the first sub housing 110 and the second sub housing 120 can be improved and the front ends thereof can be prevented from being deformed.
The inner housing 100 is formed with a first terminal cavity 101 penetrating through the rear housing 130 and the first sub housing 110 in the longitudinal direction. The first cable assembly 1 is adapted to be inserted into the first terminal cavity 101. The inner housing 100 is also formed with a second terminal cavity 102 and a third terminal cavity 103 penetrating through the rear housing 130 and the second sub housing 120 in the longitudinal direction. The second cable assembly 2 and the third cable assembly 3 are adapted to be inserted into the second terminal cavity 102 and the third terminal cavity 103, respectively.
An opening 106 for exposing the shield connection member 13 of the connector is formed in the side wall of the first sub housing 110. The mating shield connection member of the mating connector is directly or indirectly electrically connected to the shield connection member 13 of the connector exposed through the opening 106. The first sub housing 110 further includes an elastic latch 111 and 112. The elastic latch 111 and 112 is integrally formed on the first sub housing 110 to lock the first cable assembly 1 in the first sub housing 110 to prevent the first cable assembly 1 from being pulled out of the first sub housing 110.
The elastic latch 111 and 112 includes an elastic cantilever 111 and a hook like buckle 112. The elastic cantilever 111 is connected to the side wall of the housing 100. The hook like buckle 112 is connected to the end of the elastic cantilever 111. The first sub housing 110 is formed with a slot 113 adapted to fit with the hook like buckle 112. When the hook like buckle 112 is locked into the slot 113, a protrusion 114 formed on one side of the hook like buckle 112 abuts against the first terminal 11 of the first cable assembly 1 to lock the first terminal 11 in the first sub housing 110. Thus, the first cable assembly 1 can be prevented from being pulled out of the first sub housing 110.
The connector further includes a locking member 200. The locking member 200 is used to lock the second terminal 21 of the second cable assembly 2 and the third terminal 31 of the third cable assembly 3 in the second sub housing 120. The second sub housing 120 is formed with a locking slot 121 extending in a transverse direction thereof for inserting the lock member 200. When the locking member 200 is inserted into the locking slot 121, the locking member simultaneously abuts against the second terminal 21 of the second cable assembly 2 and the third terminal 31 of the third cable assembly 3 to lock the second terminal and the third terminal in the second sub housing 120. Thus, the second cable assembly 2 and the third cable assembly 3 can be prevented from being pulled out of the second sub housing 120.
A first guide rib 115 is formed on the outer surface of the first sub housing 110. The first guide rib 115 extends along the longitudinal direction of the first sub housing 110 and is used to mate with a first guide slot (not shown) formed on a mating housing (not shown) of the mating connector to guide the first sub housing into the mating housing. Similarly, a second guide rib 125 is formed on the outer surface of the second sub housing 120. The second guide rib 125 extends along the longitudinal direction of the second sub housing 120 and is used to mate with a second guide slot (not shown) formed on the mating housing of the mating connector to guide the second sub housing to be inserted into the mating housing.
According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a connector is also disclosed which includes the aforementioned inner housing 100, a first cable assembly 1, a second cable assembly 2, and a third cable assembly 3. The first cable assembly 1 is inserted into the first sub housing 110 of the inner housing 100. The second cable assembly 2 and the third cable assembly 3 are inserted into the second sub housing 120 of the inner housing 100. The third cable assembly 3 is arranged between the first cable assembly 1 and the second cable assembly 2. The shield connection member 13 at least includes a partition wall between the first cable assembly 1 and the third cable assembly 3 for isolating the first cable assembly 1 from the third cable assembly 3.
As shown in
The cable seals 310, 320 include a first cable seal 310 and a second cable seal 320. The first cable seal 310 is used to seal at least one of the cables 10 of the connector. The second cable seal 320 is used to seal other cables 20, 30 of the connector. A first accommodation chamber 301 and a second accommodation chamber 302 are formed in the outer housing 300. The first accommodation chamber 301 is used to accommodate the first cable seal 310, and the chamber wall of the first accommodation chamber 301 is sealingly engaged with the first cable seal. The second accommodation chamber 302 is used to accommodate the second cable seal 320, and the chamber wall of the second accommodation chamber is sealingly engaged with the second cable seal. The seal assembly further includes a seal protection end cap 400. The seal protection end cover 400 is fixed to an opening of the first accommodation chamber 301 of the housing 300, and is used to hold the first cable seal 310 in the first accommodation chamber to prevent the first cable seal 310 from being pulled out from the first accommodation chamber.
The outer housing 300 includes an outer peripheral wall 311, an inner peripheral wall 312, and a radial side wall 313. The inner peripheral wall 312 is radially spaced from the outer peripheral wall 311. The radial side wall 313 is connected between the outer peripheral wall 311 and the inner peripheral wall 312. The inner peripheral wall 312 isolates the first accommodation chamber 301 from the second accommodation chamber 302. A third accommodation chamber 303 for accommodating the housing seal 330 is defined by the outer peripheral wall 311, the inner peripheral wall 312 and the radial side wall 313. In the illustrated embodiment, the housing seal 330 is provided on the outer side of the inner peripheral wall 312 and is sealingly engaged therewith.
A connector housing is also disclosed. The connector housing includes the rear housing 130, the first sub housing 110 and the second sub housing 120. The rear end of the first sub housing 110 is connected to the front side of the rear housing 130. The first sub housing 110 is provided with the first terminal cavity 101, which extends continuously and passes through the rear housing 130 to accommodate the first cable assembly 1 of the connector. The rear end of the second sub housing 120 is connected to the front side of the rear housing 130. The second sub housing 110 is provided with the second terminal cavity 102 and the third terminal cavity 103. The second terminal cavity 102 and the third terminal cavity 103 extend continuously and pass through the rear housing 130 to accommodate the second cable assembly 2 and the third cable assembly 3 of the connector, respectively. The first sub housing 110 and the second sub housing 120 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance to form an avoiding slot 104 between the first sub housing and the second sub housing that allows the mating shield connection member of the mating connector to pass through. The first terminal cavity 101 and the second terminal cavity 102 are respectively used to accommodate the first terminal 11 and the second terminal 21 that transmit different types of signals. The third terminal cavity 103 is disposed between the first terminal cavity 101 and the second terminal cavity 102 to accommodate the third terminal 31 for transmitting power.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is also disclosed a connector assembly including the aforementioned connector and a mating connector adapted to mate with the aforementioned connector.
In addition, those areas in which it is believed that those of ordinary skill in the art are familiar, have not been described herein in order not to unnecessarily obscure the invention described. Accordingly, it has to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrated, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle.
Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
As used herein, an element recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural of the elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments “comprising” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional such elements not having that property.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202111666804.1 | Dec 2021 | CN | national |
