Patent Application
20240128671
This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. CN202222697206.7 filed on Oct. 13, 2022, in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a terminal, a connector including the terminal, and a connector assembly including the connector.
A terminal of a high-voltage connector typically includes a terminal body and a pair of elastic contact members. The terminal body also generally includes two terminal plates. A gap is defined between the two terminal plates that allows for the insertion of a mating terminal. A pair of elastic contact members are set in the gap between two terminal plates and fixed to respective inner sides of the two terminal plates. The elastic contact members are used to clamp the mating terminal inserted between them to achieve electrical connection between the terminal and the mating terminal.
However, in prior art terminals, the extension direction of the elastic arm on the elastic contact member is usually in the length or width direction of the terminal body. This results in mating terminal being inserted between the pair of elastic contact members only along the length or width direction of the terminal body. In this way, the mating direction between terminal and mating terminal can only be the length or width direction of the terminal body, which limits the range of use of connector.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a terminal comprises a terminal body including a pair of terminal plates spaced opposite each other in a height direction, and a pair of elastic contact members installed or arranged on respective inner sides of the pair of terminal plates. Each elastic contact member includes an elastic arm having an extension direction inclined at a non-right angle with respect to a length direction of the terminal body. The elastic arms are adapted to clamp to a mating terminal inserted therebetween along the extension direction to achieve electrical connection between the terminal and the mating terminal.
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 terminal body includes a pair of terminal plates spaced opposite each other in its height direction, and a pair of elastic contact members installed on respective inner sides of the pair of terminal plates. Each elastic contact member includes an elastic arm having an extension direction that is inclined to the length direction of the terminal body. In embodiments, an angle between the direction of extension and the length direction is not equal to 90 degrees (i.e., a non-right angle). The elastic arms of the pair of elastic contact members are adapted to clamp a mating terminal inserted between them along the extension direction to achieve electrical connection between the terminal and the mating terminal. According to embodiment of the present disclosure, a connector comprises a housing, and the above described terminal inserted therein. Another embodiment of the present disclosure includes a connector assembly. The connector assembly comprises above described connector, and a mating connector mated with the connector. A mating terminal of the mating connector is inserted into the connector along the extension direction of the elastic arm of the elastic contact member of the connector.
As shown in
An extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23 is inclined to the length direction Y of the terminal body 10. An angle between the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23 and the length direction Y of the terminal body 10 is not equal to 90 degrees. The elastic arms 23 of the pair of elastic contact members 20 are suitable for clamping a mating terminal (not shown) inserted between them along the extension direction Y1, in order to achieve electrical connection between the terminal and the mating terminal. Therefore, in the present invention, the mating direction between the mating terminal and the terminal 1 is inclined towards the length direction of the terminal body 10, thereby expanding the application range of the connector.
In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the angle between the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23 and the length direction Y of the terminal body 10 is greater than 90 degrees and less than 180 degrees. For example, the angle between the extension direction Y1 of elastic arm 23 and the length direction Y of terminal body 10 can be equal to 100 degrees, 120 degrees, 140 degrees, or 160 degrees.
The elastic contact member 20 includes multiple elastic arms 23 arranged in a row along a direction perpendicular to the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arms 23. The terminal plate 11 has an inclined side edge 114, which is perpendicular to the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23. The terminal body 10 has a mating port 101 located between the inclined side edges 114 of the pair of terminal plates 11 for inserting the mating terminal.
The elastic contact member 20 further includes a first side edge portion 21 and a second side edge portion 22 that are opposite to each other in the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23. The elastic arm 23 is connected between the first side edge portion 21 and the second side edge portion 22. The first side edge portion 21 is arranged proximate to the inclined side edge 114 and fixed to the inner side of the terminal plate 11, while the second side edge portion 22 is distal or farther from the inclined side edge 114 and sliding supported on the inner side of the terminal plate 11.
A riveting hole 21a is formed in the first side edge portion 21. A protruding riveting part or rivet 11a is formed on the inner side of the terminal plate 11. The riveting part 11a is riveted into the riveting hole 21a to rivet the first side edge portion 21 to the inner side of the terminal plate 11. The first side edge portion 21 and the second side edge portion 22 extend in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23. Multiple riveting holes 21a are formed in the first side edge portion 21, and the multiple riveting holes 21a are arranged in a row along the extension direction of the first side edge portion 21. Multiple riveting parts 11a are formed on the terminal plate 11, and the multiple riveting parts 11a are arranged in a row along the extension direction of the first side edge portion 21.
A pair of support protrusions 11b are formed on the inner side of the terminal plate 11. The pair of support protrusions 11b are respectively located at both ends of the inclined side edge 114 and extend along the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23. The support protrusion 11b on the pair of terminal plates 11 is used to support the mating terminal inserted between the pair of elastic contact members 20. This prevents the elastic arm 23 from being excessively pressed by the mating terminal.
A raised rib 11c is formed on the inner side of the terminal plate 11. The raised rib 11c extends in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction Y1 of the elastic arm 23. The raised rib 11c on terminal plate 11 is used to support the elastic arm 23 to prevent excessive deformation of the elastic arm.
The terminal plate 11 also has a first side edge 111 and a second side edge 112 that are opposite to each other in the width direction X of the terminal body 10. The terminal plate 11 further includes as a third side edge 113 connected between one end of the second side edge 112 and one end of the inclined side edge 114. The inclined side edge 114 is connected between one end of the first side edge 111 and one end of the third side edge 113. The first side edge 111 and the second side edge 112 extend along the length direction Y of the terminal body 10, and the third side edge 113 is perpendicular to the inclined side edge 114.
As shown in
A positioning notch 13d and a limiting tongue 13e extending into the positioning notch 13d are formed on each of the inclined side edge 114 and the second side edge 112 of the terminal plate 11. An elastic clamping part 30d is formed on the side edge of each of the bottom plate 31 and the top plate 32 of the locking member 30. The elastic clamping part 30d is positioned in the positioning notch 13d and clamps the limiting tongue 13e.
A positioning protrusion 13f is formed on the third side edge 113 of the terminal plate 11. A positioning slot hole 30f is formed on the end plate 33 of the locking member 30. The positioning protrusion 13f is assembled into the positioning slot hole 30f A locking spring 34 is formed on each of the bottom plate 31 and top plate 32 of the locking member 30. The locking spring 34 is adapted to engage with the connector housing to lock the terminal 1 in the connector housing.
The terminal body 10 further includes a welding part 12, a first bending part 131, and a second bending part 132. The welding part 12 is used for welding to a conductor end of a wire/cable (not shown). The welding part 12 includes a pair of welding plates 121 and a bent connection part 122. The pair of welding plates 121 are stacked up and down and riveted together with each other. The bent connection part 122 is connected between one sides of the pair of welding plates 121. The first bending part 131 is connected between one end of one welding plate 121 and one end of one terminal plate 11. The second bending part 132 is connected between one end of the other welding plate 121 and one end of the other terminal plate 11.
In the illustrated embodiment, the terminal body 10 is an integral stamped piece. This can reduce manufacturing costs. Similarly, the elastic contact member 20 and/or the locking member 30 can also be an integral stamped piece.
As shown in
Referring generally to
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202222697206.7 | Oct 2022 | CN | national |
