Patent Grant
11450981
This application claims under 35 U.S.C. § 119 the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0076365 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Jun. 23, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a terminal fastening structure of a connector, more particularly, to the terminal fastening structure for a high voltage connector for an electric vehicle that improves terminal fixing power and implements a terminal position guarantee structure.
Generally, in a connector (electrical connection system), a retainer for ensuring the connection position is in the form of a slot and a tab, and guides the female/male connector to be fastened in parallel. In addition, fastened connectors are designed to ensure an electrical connection state by preventing them from coming off each other after fastening.
The connection guarantee structure of these connectors is classified as a Connector Position Assurance (CPA) system that guarantees the connection between male and female connectors, and a Terminal Position Assurance (TPA) system that guarantees the connection between the connector and the terminal.
Because a straight type connector has a simple structure, it is not difficult to implement the TPA structure when connecting the connector to the terminal. However, in the case of an angled type connector, it is generally difficult to utilize a position assurance structure. Therefore, in the case of an angled type connector, a TPA structure is not employed or a structure having a weak fastening force is applied.
In addition, in the case of the conventional angled type connector fastening structure, by applying a rear holder type retainer that is inserted from a back of the connector, the retainer holds a position of a terminal when a cable with the terminal crimped is fixed to a connector housing and the cable is shaken or pulled. However, a terminal holding force is somewhat weak. In addition, when TPA is inserted to a side of the housing to ensure the position of the terminal, there is a problem that it cannot be applied to a waterproof connector because a hole is formed on the side of the housing.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the disclosure, and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
The present disclosure provides a terminal fastening structure of a connector in which a terminal holder is pre-fastened to an inside of a connector housing when assembling the connector, and when a terminal is assembled, a locking protrusion of the terminal and the terminal holder are fastened to realize a terminal position guarantee structure.
A terminal fastening structure of a connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes a pair of tab terminals electrically connected to an electrical wire connector, a plug inner housing having an opening at one end into which the tab terminal is inserted, and a pair of terminal holders fastened to the plug inner housing and fixing the tab terminal to the plug inner housing.
The terminal fastening structure of the connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a plug outer housing having an opening at a first end into which the plug inner housing is inserted, a plug front shield shell inserted into an opening formed below a second end of the plug outer housing, a plug rear shield shell inserted into the plug outer housing with the plug inner housing inserted therein and electrically connected to the plug front shield shell, and a lever rotatably coupled to an outer surface of the plug outer housing so that the plug outer housing surrounds the plug inner housing, the plug front shield shell, and the plug rear shield shell, i.e., to secure the coupling.
The plug inner housing may have an angled type in which a second end facing the opening into which the tab terminal is inserted is closed and an additional opening is formed below the second end.
The plug inner housing may be inserted into and fixed to an inner side of the plug rear shield shell, and fixing grooves that are coupled to fixing protrusions provided on an inner surface of the plug rear shield shell may be formed on upper and side surfaces of the outer plug inner housing.
The plug inner housing may be formed in a shape whose width is narrowed along a direction in which the tab terminal is inserted, corresponding to the shape of the plug rear shield shell.
The tab terminal may be formed in a plate shape whose width is narrowed along a direction inserted into the plug inner housing.
An edge of each of the tab terminals may be formed in a chamfer shape.
Each of the terminal holders may include a terminal holder surface, a first hook formed on a first side of the terminal holder surface and fastened and fixed to an inside of an inner hole of the plug, and a second hook formed on a second side facing the first side of the terminal holder surface, and pressed by elasticity when the tab terminals are inserted and fixed in the plug inner housing and then restored, and allowing the tab terminals to be fastened and released between the plug inner housing and the terminal holders.
The terminal holder surface may be formed with a thickness of a surface of a side of the second hook greater than that of a surface of a side of the first hook.
A vertical gap preventing protrusion protruding in a direction perpendicular to the terminal holder surface may be provided at a central portion of each of the terminal holders.
The vertical gap preventing protrusions may face each other and be provided as a pair in a staggered form.
A horizontal gap preventing protrusion protruding in a direction parallel to the terminal holder surface may be provided at a central portion of each of the terminal holders.
The plug outer housing may be formed in an angled type in which the second end facing the opening into which the plug inner housing is inserted is closed, and an additional opening is formed below the second end.
The plug outer housing may have a circular columnar rotation protrusion protruding to the outer surface so that the lever is rotatably coupled.
The plug outer housing may have a coupling locking protrusion on an upper surface thereof to engage and fix the lever after being rotated.
The plug front shield shell may include a first lance coupled to an outer surface of the plug inner housing to prevent separation from the plug inner housing, and a second lance coupled to an inner surface of the plug outer housing to prevent separation from the plug outer housing.
An upper edge of the plug front shield shell may be formed in a bent and cut chamfer shape.
In the front shield shell, an inner grounding portion protruding to the inside of the front shield shell to contact the plug rear shield shell for grounding, and an outer grounding portion protruding to the outside of the plug front shield shell for grounding may be provided.
In the rear shield shell, an outer housing fixing protrusion protruding outwardly and fastened to an inner side of the plug outer housing, and an inner housing fixing protrusion protruding inwardly and fastened and fixed to the outside of the plug inner housing may be provided.
The plug rear shield shell may include a contact provided on a surface of the plug rear shield shell and electrically connected to the plug front shield shell.
According to a terminal fastening structure of a connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, by supporting the terminal position guarantee structure so that the terminal is not separated from the connector, there is an effect of reinforcing the terminal holding force and improving the contact reliability of the terminal.
It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Throughout the specification, unless explicitly described to the contrary, the word “comprise” and variations such as “comprises” or “comprising” will be understood to imply the inclusion of stated elements but not the exclusion of any other elements. In addition, the terms “unit”, “-er”, “-or”, and “module” described in the specification mean units for processing at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware components or software components and combinations thereof.
Further, the control logic of the present disclosure may be embodied as non-transitory computer readable media on a computer readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller or the like. Examples of computer readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disc (CD)-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, flash drives, smart cards and optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can also be distributed in network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable media is stored and executed in a distributed fashion, e.g., by a telematics server or a Controller Area Network (CAN).
The present disclosure will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the disclosure are shown. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure.
Further, in exemplary embodiments, since like reference numerals designate like elements having the same configuration, a first exemplary embodiment is representatively described, and in other exemplary embodiments, only configurations different from the first exemplary embodiment will be described.
The drawings are schematic, and are not illustrated in accordance with a scale. Relative dimensions and ratios of portions in the drawings are illustrated to be exaggerated or reduced in size for clarity and convenience, and the dimensions are just exemplified and are not limiting. In addition, like structures, elements, or components illustrated in two or more drawings use same reference numerals for showing similar features. It will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film, region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present.
The exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure shows an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure in detail. As a result, various modifications of the drawings will be expected. Therefore, the exemplary embodiment is not limited to a specific aspect of the illustrated region, and for example, includes modifications of an aspect by manufacturing.
Now, a terminal fastening structure of a connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
Referring to
The tab terminals 10 may be provided in a pair to face each other, and an end of the electric wire connector and one end of the tab terminal 10 are coupled and fixed to be electrically connected to the electric wire connector. The tab terminal 10 may be formed of a copper alloy.
The plug inner housing 20 has an opening formed at a first end, and the tab terminal 10 is inserted through the opening. A second end facing the opening of the plug inner housing 20 is closed, and another (or “additional”) opening is formed toward the bottom of the second end.
The terminal holder 30 is a component that fixes the tab terminal 10 to the plug inner housing 20 and is fixedly installed in the plug inner housing 20 in advance. The tab terminal 10 may be inserted through the opening of the plug inner housing 20 to be mounted and fixed to the plug inner housing 20 by the terminal holder 30. The terminal holders 30 may be provided as a pair in a shape facing each other so as to correspond to the tab terminals 10 provided in a pair in a shape facing each other.
Referring to
The plug outer housing 40 has an opening formed at one end, and the plug inner housing 20 is inserted through the opening. In addition, the plug inner housing 20 and the plug rear shield shell 60 are inserted into the plug outer housing 40 while the plug inner housing 20 is inserted into the plug rear shield shell 60.
The second end facing the opening of the first end of the plug outer housing 40 is closed, and another opening is formed toward the bottom of the second end. The plug front shield shell 50 is inserted through the opening formed downward of the second end of the plug outer housing 40.
The plug front shield shell 50 and the plug rear shield shell 60 are electrically connected, and may be formed of a copper alloy.
The lever 70 is rotatably coupled to the outer surface of the plug outer housing 40. The plug inner housing 20, the plug front shield shell 50, and the plug rear shield shell 60 are inserted through both openings of the plug outer housing 40. Then, the lever 70 is rotated so as to contact the upper surface of the plug outer housing 40 so that the plug inner housing 20, the plug front shield shell 50, and the plug rear shield shell 60 are firmly attached to the plug outer housing 40.
Meanwhile, the electric wire connector may be stably fixed to the tab terminal 10 by components such as a wire seal, a wire holder, and a plug rear housing, from the left side of the reference numeral 80 shown in
Meanwhile, at an edge of the opening formed toward the bottom of the second end of the plug outer housing 40, components such as a plug insulation cap, a plug inner seal, a plug seal cap, and a joint terminal of reference numeral ‘55’ shown in
Referring to
Referring to
The plug inner housing 20 may be inserted and fixed inside the plug rear shield shell 60, and fixing grooves 21 and 22 are formed on the inner surface of the upper surface and the outer surface of the side surface of the plug inner housing 20, respectively. The fixing grooves 21 and 22 may be coupled with fixing protrusions 62 and 63 provided on the inner surface of the plug rear shield shell 60. The fixing groove 22 is coupled to the fixing protrusion 62 of the plug rear shield shell 60 to each other, and the fixing groove 21 provided on the inner surface of the upper surface of the plug inner housing 20 is fastened to the fixing protrusion 63 of the plug rear shield shell 60. Accordingly, the plug inner housing 20 and the plug rear shield shell 60 can be fixed. The fixing groove 21 may be formed in a shape corresponding to the shape of the fixing protrusion 63 so that the fixing protrusion 63 performs an elastic restoration function of a lance. In addition, a fixing groove may be formed on the front outer surface 23 of the plug inner housing in a shape corresponding to the shape of a first lance 51 so as to be coupled with the first lance 51 of the plug front shield shell 50.
The terminal holder 30 includes a terminal holder surface 31, a first hook 32, and a second hook 33. A first hook 32 is formed on a first side of the terminal holder surface 31, and the first hook 32 is fastened and fixed to an inside of a plug inner housing 20. In addition, a second hook 33 is formed on a second side facing the first side of the terminal holder surface 31. The second hook 33 is pressed together with the terminal holder surface 31 on the second hook 33 side by elasticity and then restored. Then, the tab terminal 10 slides in through the second hook 33 and may be fastened and released between the plug inner housing 20 and the terminal holder 30. The first hook 32 and the second hook 33 are formed in a shape of a hook in cross-section to fix the terminal holder 30 so as not to be separated from the plug inner housing 20 after fastening.
The first hook 32 of the terminal holder 30 is fixed in advance to the plug inner housing 20, and the second hook 33 is elastic when the tab terminal 10 is inserted into the plug inner housing 20. The tab terminal 10 can be fastened to the plug inner housing 20 by being pressed and then restored. The terminal holder surface 31 may be formed to have a greater thickness of the surface of the second hook 33 side than the thickness of the surface of the first hook 32 side.
Meanwhile, a vertical gap preventing protrusion 34 protruding in a direction perpendicular to the terminal holder surface 31 may be provided at a central portion of the terminal holder 30. The vertical gap preventing protrusion 34 prevents gap in the vertical direction while the terminal holder 30 is fastened to the inside of the plug inner housing 20. These vertical gap prevention protrusions 34 may be provided as a pair in a cross-sectional shape facing each other.
In addition, a horizontal gap preventing protrusion 35 protruding in a direction parallel to the terminal holder surface 31 may be provided at the central portion of the terminal holder 30. The horizontal gap preventing protrusion 35 prevents a gap in the left and right directions while the terminal holder 30 is fastened to the inside of the plug inner housing 20.
The vertical gap preventing protrusion 34 and the horizontal gap preventing protrusion 35 may be integrally formed, and the vertical gap preventing protrusion 34 may be formed to protrude from the horizontal gap preventing protrusion 35. In addition, the vertical gap preventing protrusion 34, the horizontal gap preventing protrusion 35, and the terminal holder surface 31 may be integrally formed.
Referring to
Referring to
The plug outer housing 40 includes a rotation protrusion 42 in the shape of a circular column protruding so that the lever 70 is rotatably coupled to the outer surface. In addition, the plug outer housing 40 is provided with a locking protrusion 41 for engaging and fixing the lever 70 after the rotation of the upper surface. In addition, at the opening-side end of one end of the plug outer housing 40, A coupling groove 43 for coupling the plug outer housing 40 and the plug rear housing by being fastened with the lance of the plug rear housing (the rightmost component of the reference numeral ‘80’ in
In addition, a fixing groove may be formed on the front inner surface of the plug outer housing 40 in a shape corresponding to the shape of a second lance 52 so as to be coupled with the second lance 52 of the plug front shield shell 50.
Referring to
As shown in
An upper edge of the plug front shield shell 50 may be formed in a chamfer shape for guiding the fastening of the plug outer housing 40 and the plug rear shield shell 60. And, as shown in
Meanwhile, at the plug front shield shell 50, the inner ground portion 53 protruding to the inside of the plug front shield shell 50 to contact the plug rear shield shell 60 for grounding, and an outer grounding portion 54 protruding to the outside of the plug front shield shell 50 to ground the outside may be provided.
As shown in
The plug rear shield shell 60 may include an outer housing fixing protrusion 61 protruding outwardly from the side of the plug rear shield shell 60 to be fastened and fixed to an inner side of the plug outer housing 40, and an inner housing fixing protrusion 62 that protrudes inward and is fastened and fixed to the outside of the plug inner housing 20. In addition, the plug rear shield shell 60 may include contacts 63, 64 and 65 provided on the surface of the plug rear shield shell 60 and electrically connected to the plug front shield shell 50.
Similarly, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, when assembling the connector, the terminal holder is pre-fastened to the inside of the connector housing, and when the terminal is assembled, the locking prong of the terminal and the terminal holder are fastened to each other, therefore, it is possible to strengthen the terminal holding power and improve the contact reliability of the terminal.
While this disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2020-0076365 | Jun 2020 | KR | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7601019 | Hsieh | Oct 2009 | B2 |
| 8992258 | Raschilla | Mar 2015 | B2 |
| 20190157792 | Miyamura et al. | May 2019 | A1 |
| 20190305461 | Miyamura et al. | Oct 2019 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 209266699 | Aug 2019 | CN |
| 110323618 | Oct 2019 | CN |
| 209641962 | Nov 2019 | CN |
| 209823007 | Dec 2019 | CN |
| 210137046 | Mar 2020 | CN |
| 210628663 | May 2020 | CN |
| 213636524 | Jul 2021 | CN |
| 5291393 | Sep 2013 | JP |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210399458 A1 | Dec 2021 | US |
