Patent Application
20250112393
This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a)-(d) of Chinese Patent Application No. 202311285020.3, filed on Sep. 28, 2023.
The present invention relates to a terminal and an electrical connection assembly comprising the terminal.
It is sometimes necessary to install multiple terminals simultaneously on a circuit board, with multiple mating plugs suitable for respectively inserting into the terminals to make electrical contact with the terminals. In order to insert the mating plugs into the terminals simultaneously, the installation position error of each terminal must be small or zero. However, in practical applications, there is always some error in the installation position of the terminals, making it difficult to achieve high accuracy. This leads to difficulty in multiple mating plugs being inserted into multiple terminals simultaneously, which increases difficulty in the overall mating operation of the product. In order to reduce the difficulty of mating, the installation position accuracy of terminals must be improved, but such an improvement generally leads to a sharp increase in cost.
A terminal includes a horizontal plate having a first side and a second side opposite to each other in a first horizontal direction, a first elastic arm, and a second elastic arm. A first end of the first elastic arm is connected to a first side edge of the horizontal plate and a second end of the first elastic arm is fixed to a circuit board. A first end of the second elastic arm is connected to a second side edge of the horizontal plate and a second end of the second elastic arm is fixed to the circuit board. The first elastic arm and the second elastic arm grip a mating plug inserted between them to make electrical contact with the mating plug. The horizontal plate is suspended above the circuit board by the first elastic arm and the second elastic arm.
Features of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will 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.
In the illustrated embodiments, the first elastic arm 3 and the second elastic arm 3′ are suitable for clamping a mating plug 5 inserted between them to make electrical contact with the mating plug 5, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiments, when the mating plug 5 is inserted centrally (i.e. along the vertical mating plane P) between the first contact arm 31 and the second contact arm 31′ as shown in
The present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments. For example, in another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when the mating plug 5 is not inserted between the first contact arm 31 and the second contact arm 31′, the first contact arm 31 is not in contact with the first connection arm 32, and the second contact arm 31′ is not in contact with the second connection arm 32′. When the mating plug 5 has been inserted between the first contact arm 31 and the second contact arm 31′, one end 31b of the first contact arm 31 contacts the first connection arm 32, and one end 31b′ of the second contact arm 31′ contacts the second connection arm 32′. In this way, it can increase the contact force between the first contact arm 31 and the mating plug 5, as well as the contact force between the second contact arm 31′ and the mating plug 5.
In another embodiment, when the mating plug 5 is not inserted between the first contact arm 31 and the second contact arm 31′, one end 31b of the first contact arm 31 is in contact with the first connection arm 32, and one end 31b′ of the second contact arm 31′ is in contact with the second connection arm 32′. This can increase the contact force between the first contact arm 31 and the mating plug 5, as well as the contact force between the second contact arm 31′ and the mating plug 5.
As shown in
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiments, one ends of the first connection arm 32 and the second connection arm 32′ and the other ends of the first connection arm 32 and the second connection arm 32′ are separated by a first distance in the first horizontal direction Y and a second distance in the vertical direction Z perpendicular to the first horizontal direction Y.
In the illustrated embodiments, the terminal is an integral stamped part.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an electrical connection assembly is also disclosed. The electrical connection assembly includes a circuit board 6 and the terminal shown in the drawings as described above; the terminal is fixed to the circuit board 6. The horizontal plate 1 of the terminal is suspended above and parallel to the circuit board 6 by the first elastic arm 3 and the second elastic arm 3′.
In an embodiment, a hole is formed in the circuit board 6, and the fixing pin 4 of the terminal is inserted into the hole of the circuit board 6 to fix and electrically connect the terminal to the circuit board 6.
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiments, the electrical connection assembly further includes the mating plug 5, which is inserted into the terminal to be electrically connected to the terminal.
In the illustrated embodiments, the electrical connection assembly comprises multiple terminals arranged in an array on the circuit board 6. The electrical connection assembly includes multiple mating plugs 5, which are suitable for simultaneously and respectively inserting into multiple terminals.
The pair of vertical plates 2 and 2′ are arranged at both sides of the horizontal plate 1 and adapted to be fixed to a circuit board 6. The first elastic arm 3 is connected between the first side edge of the horizontal plate 1 and one vertical plate 2. The second elastic arm 3′ is connected between the second side edge of horizontal plate 1 and the other vertical plate 2′. The pair of contact cantilevers 7 and 7′ are connected to the first and second side edges of horizontal plate 1, respectively, for clamping the mating plug 5 inserted between them. The pair of pressing cantilevers 8 and 8′ are respectively connected to the first and second side edges of the horizontal plate 1. The pair of pressing cantilevers 8 and 8′ are pressed against the outer sides of the pair of contact cantilevers 7 and 7′, respectively, to increase the contact pressure between the pair of contact cantilevers 7 and 7′ and the mating plug 5. In the illustrated embodiment, when the pair of vertical plates 2 and 2′ are fixed to the circuit board 6, the horizontal plate 1 is suspended above the circuit board 6 by the first and second elastic arms 3 and 3′.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiments, a root of the first pressing cantilever 8 is connected to the first side edge of the horizontal plate 1, and a first pressing portion 8c is formed at the end of the first pressing cantilever 8. The two ends of the first pressing portion 8c are respectively pressed against the outer side of the pair of first contact cantilevers 7. The root of the second pressing cantilever 8′ is connected to the second side edge of the horizontal plate 1, and a second pressing portion 8c′ is formed at the end of the second pressing cantilever 8′. The two ends of the second pressing portion 8c′ are respectively pressed against the outer side of the pair of second contacting cantilevers 7′.
In the illustrated embodiment, the root of the first contact cantilever 7 is connected to the first side edge of the horizontal plate 1, and the first contact cantilever 7 extends a predetermined length inclined upwards relative to the horizontal plate 1. The root of the second contact cantilever 7′ is connected to the second side edge of the horizontal plate 1, and the second contact cantilever 7′ extends a predetermined length inclined upwards relative to the horizontal plate 1. The ends of the first contact cantilever 7 and the second contact cantilever 7′ are used for electrical contact with both sides of the inserted mating plug 5.
As shown in
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the terminal is an integral stamped part.
In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an electrical connection assembly is also disclosed. The electrical connection assembly includes a circuit board 6 and the terminal shown and described above; the terminal is fixed to the circuit board 6. The horizontal plate 1 of the terminal is suspended above and parallel to the circuit board 6 by the first elastic arm 3 and the second elastic arm 3′.
In an embodiment, a hole is formed in the circuit board 6, and the fixing pin 4 of the terminal is inserted into the hole of the circuit board 6 to fix and electrically connect the terminal to the circuit board 6.
As shown in
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiments, the electrical connection assembly comprises a plurality of terminals arranged in an array on the circuit board 6. The electrical connection assembly includes multiple mating plugs 5, which are suitable for simultaneously and respectively inserting into multiple terminals.
In the aforementioned exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the first and second elastic arms of the terminal can absorb the installation position error of the terminal, allowing the terminal to float over a large range, reducing the mating difficulty between the terminal and the mating plug, and not increasing the cost.
In addition, in some exemplary embodiments according to the present invention, the first and second elastic arms of the terminal can be directly in electrical contact with the mating plug, thereby increasing the contact pressure between the terminal and the mating plug and improving the electrical contact performance of the terminal.
In addition, in some exemplary embodiments according to the present invention, the terminal has a pressing cantilever pressed on the contact cantilever, thereby increasing the contact pressure between the contact cantilever and the mating plug, and improving the electrical contact performance of the terminal.
It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrative, 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 preceded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural of said elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present invention 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202311285020.3 | Sep 2023 | CN | national |
