Search

EP-4738625-A1 - PLUG ASSEMBLY AND CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY

EP4738625A1EP 4738625 A1EP4738625 A1EP 4738625A1EP-4738625-A1

Abstract

A plug assembly (21) is configured to be inserted into a header assembly (25) of a target device (TD). The plug assembly (21) includes a plug housing (211) including a plug body (2111) including a plurality of first direction partition walls (2111a) longitudinally formed in a first direction (Z) and a plurality of second direction partition walls (2111b) formed in a second direction (X) that intersects with the first direction (Z), a plurality of terminal holes (2112) defined by the plurality of first direction partition walls (2111a) and the plurality of second direction partition walls (2111b), and a seating space (2113) allowing a pair of terminal holes (2112) that are adjacent in the first direction (Z) among the plurality of terminal holes (2112) to communicate with each other, and a bus terminal (213) including a terminal body (2131) inserted into the seating space (2113) and a pair of contact arms (2132) extending from the terminal body (2131) and respectively protruding into the pair of terminal holes (2112).

Inventors

  • KWON, MIN JAE
  • KWON, GI-CHAN
  • SONG, SI YUN

Assignees

  • Tyco Electronics AMP Korea Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20251029

Claims (15)

  1. A plug assembly (21) configured to be inserted into a header assembly (25) of a target device (TD), the plug assembly (21) comprising: a plug housing (211) comprising a plug body (2111) comprising a plurality of first direction partition walls (2111a) longitudinally formed in a first direction (Z) and a plurality of second direction partition walls (2111b) formed in a second direction (X) that intersects with the first direction (Z), a plurality of terminal holes (2112) defined by the plurality of first direction partition walls (2111a) and the plurality of second direction partition walls (2111b), and a seating space (2113) allowing a pair of terminal holes (2112) that are adjacent in the first direction (Z) among the plurality of terminal holes to communicate with each other; and a bus terminal (213) comprising a terminal body (2131) inserted into the seating space (2113) and a pair of contact arms (2132) extending from the terminal body (2131) and respectively protruding into the pair of terminal holes (2112).
  2. The plug assembly (21) of claim 1, wherein the bus terminal (213) further comprises a fixing protrusion (2133) protruding from the terminal body (2131) and fixed to a second direction partition wall (2111b) positioned between the pair of terminal holes (2112) among the plurality of second direction partition walls (2111b).
  3. The plug assembly (21) of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the bus terminal (413) further comprises a pair of contact wings (4134) extending from the terminal body (4131) and respectively protruding into the pair of terminal holes (2112), optionally wherein the pair of contact wings (4134) are respectively positioned on an opposite side of end portions of the pair of contact arms (4132) based on a center of the bus terminal (413), optionally wherein at least one of the pair of contact wings (4134) comprises: a wing contact portion (4134a) configured to be in contact with a cable assembly (23) inserted into one of the plurality of terminal holes (2112); and a guide portion (4134b) extending from the wing contact portion (4134a) and having a shape in which a height thereof continuously decreases in a direction away from the pair of contact arms (4132).
  4. The plug assembly (21) of any preceding claim, wherein the plug assembly (21) further comprises a plug cover (212) comprising a cover body (2121) covering an end of the plug housing (211) and a plurality of guide holes (2122) communicating with at least some of the plurality of terminal holes (2112).
  5. The plug assembly (21) of claim 4, wherein cross-sectional areas of portions of the plurality of guide holes (2122) positioned on an inner surface of the plug cover (212) are each smaller than cross-sectional areas of the corresponding plurality of terminal holes (2112), and the plug cover (212) further comprises a plurality of hole chamfers (2123) formed to be inclined in a direction in which a cross-sectional area of each of the plurality of guide holes (2122) decreases from an outer surface of the plug cover (212) toward an inner surface of the plug cover (212).
  6. The plug assembly (21) of claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the plug cover (212) has a shape that covers the seating space (2113) such that the seating space (2113) is not exposed to an outside based on a longitudinal direction of the terminal hole (2112).
  7. The plug assembly (21) of any of claims 4 to 6, wherein the plug cover (212) further comprises a guide step (2124) supporting an end portion of a cable assembly (23) inserted into one of the plurality of terminal holes (2112), and the guide step (2124) is positioned on an inner surface of the plug cover (212) and has a shape extending from the plurality of guide holes (2122).
  8. The plug assembly (21) of any preceding claim, wherein the plurality of terminal holes (2112) comprises: a plurality of first terminal holes (2112-1) arranged along a first row parallel to the second direction (X); and a plurality of second terminal holes (2112-2) arranged along a second row that is parallel to the second direction (X) and is spaced apart from the first row in the first direction (Z), wherein the plug assembly (21) comprises a plurality of bus terminals (213), each of which is installed between one of the plurality of first terminal holes (2112-1) and one of the plurality of second terminal holes (2112-2), wherein the plurality of bus terminals (213) comprises the bus terminal (213).
  9. A connector assembly (2) comprising: the plug assembly (21) of any preceding claim; a plurality of cable assemblies (23) comprising a plurality of cable terminals (232) respectively inserted into the plurality of terminal holes (2112) and a plurality of connecting cables (231) respectively connected to the plurality of cable terminals (232); and the header assembly (25) comprising a header body (251) comprising an accommodation space in which the plug assembly (21) is inserted and a plurality of header terminals (252) installed in the header body (251) and coupled to at least some of the plurality of cable terminals (232).
  10. The connector assembly (2) of claim 9, wherein, among the plurality of cable assemblies (23), a pair of cable assemblies (23) inserted into the pair of terminal holes (2112) is electrically connected to each other by the bus terminal (213), one of the plurality of header terminals (252) is coupled to one of the pair of cable assemblies (23), and none of the plurality of header terminals (252) is coupled to the other one of the pair of cable assemblies (23).
  11. The connector assembly (2) of claim 10, wherein the plug assembly (21) further comprises a plug cover (212) comprising a cover body (2121) covering an end of the plug housing (211) and a plurality of guide holes (2122) communicating with at least some of the plurality of terminal holes (2112), wherein a hole is not formed in an area of the cover body (2121) corresponding to one of the plurality of terminal holes (2112) in which the other one of the pair of cable assemblies (23) is inserted.
  12. The connector assembly (2) of claim 10 or claim 11, wherein the header terminal (252) comprises: a plug connection portion (2521) coupled to one of the plurality of cable assemblies (23); and a device connection portion (2522) coupled to a target device (TD) on which the header assembly (25) is mounted, and wherein the device connection portion (2522) has a shape that is bent from the plug connection portion (2521) in a direction away from the other one of the pair of cable assemblies (23).
  13. The connector assembly (2) of any of claims 9 to 12, wherein when the pair of terminal holes (2112) is referred to as a first terminal hole pair, the plurality of terminal holes (2112) comprises a second terminal hole pair including a pair of adjacent terminal holes (2112) in the first direction (Z) other than the first terminal hole pair, when the bus terminal (213) is referred to as a first bus terminal, the plug assembly (21) further comprises a second bus terminal (213) corresponding to the second terminal hole pair, and among the plurality of header terminals (252), a length of a first header terminal (252) inserted into one terminal hole (2112) of the first terminal hole pair is equal to a length of a second header terminal (252) inserted into one terminal hole (2112) of the second terminal hole pair, optionally wherein a pair of differential signals are respectively applied to a target device (TD) on which the header assembly (25) is mounted via the first header terminal (252) and the second header terminal (252).
  14. The connector assembly (2) of any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the plurality of connecting cables (231) comprises: a first twisted cable formed by twisting two first wires (231) respectively transmitting a first signal and a second signal; and a second twisted cable formed by twisting two second wires (231) respectively receiving the first signal and the second signal from the first twisted cable and transmitting the first signal and the second signal, wherein the plurality of terminal holes (2112) comprises: a first terminal hole pair consisting of a first pair of terminal holes (2112) in which the two first wires (231) are inserted, respectively; and a second terminal hole pair consisting of a second pair of terminal holes (2112) in which the two second wires (231) are inserted and which is positioned adjacent to the first pair of terminal holes (2112), respectively, when the bus terminal (213) is referred to as a first bus terminal, the plug assembly further comprises a second bus terminal (213), the first bus terminal (213) is configured to transmit the first signal by connecting one of the two first wires (231) to one of the two second wires (231), the second bus terminal (213) is configured to transmit the second signal by connecting the other one of the two first wires (231) to the other one of the two second wires (231), and the plurality of header terminals (252) is connected to one of the first and second twisted cables (23) and is not connected to the other twisted cable (23).
  15. The connector assembly (2) of claim 14, wherein lengths of the plurality of header terminals (252) are equal to each other, optionally wherein a first end portion of each of the plurality of header terminals (252) is arranged in parallel on a first straight line, and a second end portion of each of the plurality of header terminals (252) is arranged in parallel on a second straight line that is spaced apart from the first straight line and is parallel to the first straight line, optionally wherein each of the plurality of header terminals (252) has a bent shape such that an extending direction of the first end portion of each of the plurality of header terminals (252) intersects at 90 degrees with an extending direction of the second end portion of each of the plurality of header terminals (252).

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0152537, filed on October 31, 2024, Korean Patent Application No. 10-2025-0048717, filed on April 15, 2025, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2025-0100900, filed on July 24, 2025, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention The following disclosure relates to a plug assembly and a connector assembly including the same. 2. Description of the Related Art A connector is a type of electronic component that allows or blocks an electrical connection. Connectors are used in various electromechanical devices, such as automobiles or home appliances, to enable an electrical and/or physical connection between a plurality of electronic components. A connector enables a connection among electronic components through simple operations, for example, insertion by pressing in a direction, and/or by rotating or sliding a lever. Accordingly, since manual wiring work, which previously required workers to strip and connect wires, may be significantly reduced, connectors are actively used, for example, to connect numerous electronic components, such as in a vehicle. The above description is information the inventor(s) acquired during the course of conceiving the present disclosure, or already possessed at the time, and is not necessarily art publicly not known before the present application was filed. SUMMARY According to an embodiment, a plug assembly configured to be inserted into a header assembly of a target device, includes a plug housing including a plug body including a plurality of first direction partition walls longitudinally formed in a first direction and a plurality of second direction partition walls formed in a second direction that intersects with the first direction, a plurality of terminal holes defined by the plurality of first direction partition walls and the plurality of second direction partition walls, and a seating space allowing a pair of terminal holes that are adjacent in the first direction among the plurality of terminal holes to communicate with each other, and a bus terminal including a terminal body inserted into the seating space and a pair of contact arms extending from the terminal body and respectively protruding into the pair of terminal holes. In an embodiment, the bus terminal further includes a fixing protrusion protruding from the terminal body and fixed to a second direction partition wall positioned between the pair of terminal holes among the plurality of second direction partition walls. In an embodiment, the bus terminal further includes a pair of contact wings extending from the terminal body and respectively protruding into the pair of terminal holes. In an embodiment, the pair of contact wings are respectively positioned on an opposite side of end portions of the pair of contact arms based on a center of the bus terminal. In an embodiment, at least one of the pair of contact wings includes a wing contact portion configured to be in contact with a cable assembly inserted into one of the plurality of terminal holes, and a guide portion extending from the wing contact portion and having a shape in which a height thereof continuously decreases in a direction away from the pair of contact arms. In an embodiment, the plug assembly further includes a plug cover including a cover body covering an end of the plug housing and a plurality of guide holes communicating with at least some of the plurality of terminal holes. In an embodiment, cross-sectional areas of portions of the plurality of guide holes positioned on an inner surface of the plug cover are each smaller than cross-sectional areas of the corresponding plurality of terminal holes, and the plug cover further includes a plurality of hole chamfers formed to be inclined in a direction in which a cross-sectional area of each of the plurality of guide holes decreases from an outer surface of the plug cover toward an inner surface of the plug cover. In an embodiment, the plug cover has a shape that covers the seating space such that the seating space is not exposed to an outside based on a longitudinal direction of the terminal hole. In an embodiment, the plug cover further includes a guide step supporting an end portion of a cable assembly inserted into one of the plurality of terminal holes, and the guide step is positioned on an inner surface of the plug cover and has a shape extending from the plurality of guide holes. In an embodiment, the plurality of terminal holes includes a plurality of first terminal holes arranged along a first row parallel to the second direction, and a plurality of second terminal holes arranged along a second row that is parallel to the second direction and is spaced apart from the first row in the first direction, and the plug assembly includes a plurality of bus