Signal Terminal, Charging End Assembly and Charging Base
A charging assembly for a charging base comprises a charging end assembly detachably connectable to a connecting end assembly to form the charging base. The charging end assembly includes a charging end housing defining a plurality of first openings, and a plurality of signal terminals received in a corresponding one of the plurality of first openings. Each signal terminal includes a main body and a guide leg extending from an end thereof. Each guide leg contracting radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body and adapted to bias a spring sheet of a lead frame and guide the outer wall of the main body to be inserted into contact with the spring sheet.
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This application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. CN202220192054.2 filed on Jan. 24, 2022 and Chinese Patent Application No. CN202222190926.4 filed on Aug. 19, 2022 in the State Intellectual Property Office of China, the whole disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present disclosure relates to a signal terminal, a charging end assembly including the signal terminal and a charging base, in particular to a charging base cooperating with a charging gun, and a signal terminal used in the charging base.
BACKGROUNDThe front ends of various terminals, including power terminals and signal terminals, in the charging base are used for matching with the matching terminals on the charging gun, while the rear ends of various terminals are used for connecting with cables. In the prior art, various terminals in the charging base are not easily replaced, and are therefore unsuitable for use in applications subject to high wear.
SUMMARYAccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a charging assembly for a charging base comprises a charging end assembly detachably connectable to a connecting end assembly to form the charging base. The charging end assembly includes a charging end housing defining a plurality of first openings, and a plurality of signal terminals received in a corresponding one of the plurality of first openings. Each signal terminal includes a main body and a guide leg extending from an end thereof. Each guide leg contracting radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body and adapted to bias a spring sheet of a lead frame and guide the outer wall of the main body to be inserted into contact with the spring sheet.
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 signal terminal for a charging base includes a main body, and a guide leg which is arranged at one end of the main body. The guide leg extends from an end of the main body and contracts radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body. The guide leg is configured to offset a spring sheet of a lead frame, so as to guide the outer wall of the main body of the signal terminal to be inserted between a pair of spring sheets of the lead frame.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a charging end assembly for a charging base includes a charging end housing defining a plurality of first holes, and a plurality of signal terminals. Each of the plurality of signal terminals is provided in a corresponding one of the plurality of first holes. The charging end assembly is detachably connected to a corresponding connecting end assembly to form the charging base.
According to yet another embodiment of the present disclosure, a charging base includes charging end assembly having a charging end housing and a plurality of front power terminals. The charging end housing is provided with a plurality of first holes, and each of the front power terminals is fixedly arranged in one of the plurality of first holes. A connecting end assembly of the charging base includes a connecting end housing and a plurality of rear power terminals. The connecting end housing is provided with a plurality of second holes, and each of the rear power terminals is arranged in one of the plurality of second holes. The charging end assembly is detachably connected to the connecting end assembly. When the charging end assembly is connected to the connecting end assembly, the second holes are respectively aligned and communicating with the first holes, and the rear power terminals are respectively connected to the front power terminals. When the charging end assembly is removed from the connecting end assembly, the front power terminals remain in the charging end housing and are separated from the connecting end assembly together with the charging end housing.
The charging base 100 comprises a plurality of power terminals and a plurality of signal terminals 140. In the embodiment shown in the figure, the plurality of power terminals include three power terminals, namely, the positive terminal 121, the negative terminal 122 and the ground terminal 125. The structures of these terminals are generally similar. The plurality of signal terminals 140 comprises five signal terminals whose structures are generally similar. The front ends of the power terminal and signal terminal are used to connect with the charging gun, and the rear ends are used to connect with cables.
According to the present invention, each power terminal (i.e., each of the positive terminal 121, negative terminal 122 and ground terminal 125) is divided into two parts that can be matched and connected together, namely, the front power terminal 220 (see
As shown in
The connection structure between the front power terminal 220 and the inner wall of the first hole 215 of the charging end housing 210 (that is, the wall forming the first hole 215 of the mounting post 212) is clearly shown in
The inner wall of the first hole 215 on the charging end housing 210 for receiving the front power terminal 220 is provided with a pair of first buckles or latches 432. The first buckle 432 of the charging end housing 210 and the annular concave structure 422 of the front power terminal 220 form a first snap structure that is mutually matched, which is used to allow the front power terminal 220 to insert into the corresponding first hole 215 from the rear end of the charging end housing 210 (i.e., the end close to the connecting end assembly 150) in the left to right direction as shown in
Referring to
As shown in
As shown in
The step 530 comprises a radial blocking surface 532 and an axial blocking surface 534. The radial blocking surface 532 intersects the axial blocking surface 534 to form a step shape, and can block the radial outward movement and axial backward movement of the second buckle 510 relative to the first hole 215, respectively. The second buckle 510 can be set against the step 530. More specifically, the second buckle 510 is an elastic cantilever, which is connected to the inner wall of the first hole 215 through the connection end. Its free end can at least partially touch the radial blocking surface 532 and/or the axial blocking surface 534 of the step 530, and the second buckle 510 can deflect around its connection end, so that the second buckle 510 has elasticity. When the signal terminal 140 is assembled in place in the first hole 215 of the mounting post 212, the free end of the second buckle 510 is at least partially against the radial blocking surface 532 and/or the axial blocking surface 534 of the step 530, thereby preventing the signal terminal 140 from exiting from the corresponding first hole 215 in the direction from right to left (that is, from front to back).
The mounting post 212 receiving the signal terminal 140 is provided with a second operation window 540 near the step 530 (clearly shown in combination with
As shown in
Due to the frequent plug and pull operations between the charging base 100 and the charging gun during use, the contact parts or surfaces between the power terminal and the signal terminal and the charging gun are subject to wear, which affects the electrical contact therebetween. The described embodiments can easily remedy this problem by providing the detachable charging end assembly 110.
Specifically, the charging base 100 is divided into two detachable parts (i.e., the charging end assembly 110 for matching the charging gun and the connecting end assembly 150 for connecting the cable), and each power terminal is also divided into two detachable parts (i.e., the front power terminal 220 and the rear power terminal 320). The front power terminal 220 and the signal terminal 140 are detachably connected in the charging end housing 210 of the charging end assembly 110 and can be removed from the connecting end assembly 150 together with the charging end housing 210. When one or some parts of the power terminals and signal terminals contacting the charging gun are worn, the charging end assembly 110 can be removed from the connecting end assembly 150 as a whole, and then the worn front power terminals 220 and/or the signal terminals 140 can be removed from the charging end housing 210 for replacement. Embodiments set forth herein not only facilitate the replacement of power terminals, but the signal and ground terminals as well.
As shown in
The pair of guide legs 820 of the signal terminal 140 is used to offset the pair of spring sheets 830 corresponding to the signal terminal 140, so that the pair of spring sheets 830 are offset in the direction away from each other. Therefore, the outer wall of the main body 840 of the signal terminal is guided and inserted between the pair of spring sheets 830, realizing the connection between the signal terminal 140 and the lead frame 330.
As shown in
It should be noted that although the embodiment in the figure shows a pair of guide legs 820, only one guide leg 820 is set on the signal terminal 140, which can also guide the outer wall of the main body 840 of the signal terminal 140 to enter between the pair of spring sheets 830, which is also within the scope of the present disclosure.
For the charging base with the detachable charging end assembly 110 according to the present invention, a guide leg 820 which is radially retracted relative to the outer wall of the main body 840 of the signal terminal 140 is arranged on the signal terminal 140. When the signal terminal 140 of the charging end assembly 110 is inserted into the main body 810 of the corresponding second hole 315 on the connecting end assembly 150, it can prevent the undesired thrust from being applied to the pair of spring sheets 830 at the pre assembly position of the lead frame 330 of the connecting end assembly 150, thus ensuring that the spring sheets 830 reach the expected post assembly position, so as to ensure a good electrical connection between the spring sheets 830 and the signal terminal 140. This is particularly beneficial for a charging base that requires the replacement of signal terminals frequently due to repeated plugging and unplugging.
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.
Claims
1. A charging assembly for a charging base, comprising:
- a charging end assembly detachably connectable to a connecting end assembly to form the charging base, including: a charging end housing defining a plurality of first openings; and a plurality of signal terminals received in a corresponding one of the plurality of first openings, each signal terminal having: a main body; and a guide leg extending from an end of the main body and contracting radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body, the guide leg adapted to bias a spring sheet of a lead frame and guide the outer wall of the main body to be inserted into contact with the spring sheet.
2. The charging assembly according to claim 1, wherein the charging end assembly further comprises a lead frame having a plurality of pairs of spring sheets extending therefrom, a rear end of the main body of each signal terminal removably received between one of the pairs of spring sheets.
3. The charging assembly according to claim 2, wherein the guide leg extends from a rear end of the main body of each of the signal terminals.
4. The charging assembly according to claim 2, wherein the signal terminal comprises a pair of the guide legs biasing a respective pair of the spring sheets of the lead frame.
5. The charging assembly according to claim 4, wherein a distance between the ends of the pair of guide legs is less than a distance between the pair of spring sheets of the lead frame.
6. The charging assembly according to claim 4, wherein the pair of guide legs are arranged radially opposite to each other.
7. The charging assembly according to claim 1, wherein the signal terminal is a stamped, integrated part.
8. The charging assembly according to claim 1, wherein the main body of each of the signal terminals is substantially cylindrical.
9. The charging assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a connecting end assembly detachably connected to the charging end assembly and including a connecting end housing defining a plurality of second openings receiving respective front ends of each of the plurality of signal terminals.
10. The charging assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:
- a plurality of front power terminals arranged in a plurality of third openings formed through the charging end housing; and
- a plurality of rear power terminals arranged in a plurality of forth openings formed through the connecting end housing, the front and rear terminals detachably electrically connected to one another with the connecting end assembly connected to the charging end assembly.
11. The charging assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of signal terminals is detachably fixed in one of the plurality of first openings.
12. A signal terminal for a charging base, comprising:
- a main body; and
- a guide leg extending from an end of the main body and contracting radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body, the guide leg adapted to bias a spring sheet of a lead frame and guide the outer wall of the main body to be inserted into contact with the spring sheet.
13. The signal terminal according to claim 12, wherein the guide leg extends from a rear end of the main body of each of the signal terminals.
14. The signal terminal according to claim 12, further comprising a second guide leg adapted to bias a respective one of a pair of the spring sheets of the lead frame.
15. The signal terminal according to claim 14, wherein the pair of guide legs are arranged radially opposite to each other.
16. The signal terminal according to claim 15, wherein the main body of each signal terminal is substantially cylindrical.
17. A charging base, comprising:
- a charging end assembly including: a charging end housing defining a plurality of first openings formed therethrough; and a plurality of signal terminals arranged within the plurality of first openings, each signal terminal having a main body and a guide leg extending from an end thereof and contracting radially inward relative to an outer wall of the main body; and
- a connecting end assembly detachably connected to the charging end assembly and including a connecting end housing defining a plurality of second openings, with the charging end assembly connected to the connecting end assembly, the plurality of signal terminals arranged within respective ones of the second openings.
18. The charging base according to claim 17, further comprising a lead frame including a pair of spring sheets, a distance between the pair of spring sheets is smaller than the radial outward dimension of the main body of the signal terminal before assembly, wherein after assembly, each the signal terminal is inserted into a corresponding second hole and between the pair of spring sheets.
19. The charging base according to claim 18, wherein the lead frame is located on a side of the connection end assembly opposite the charging end assembly.
20. The charging base according to claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of signal terminals is detachably fixed in one of the plurality of first openings.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 24, 2023
Publication Date: Jul 27, 2023
Applicants: Tyco Electronics Technology (SIP) Ltd. (Suzhou), Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (Shanghai)
Inventors: Renyi (Ronny) Dou (Suzhou), Pengwei (William) Yang (Suzhou), Jianwei Qi (Suzhou), Fangyue (Jason) Zhu (Shanghai)
Application Number: 18/100,988