US-12627105-B2 - Connection component, connector, patch cord and connector inner shell

US12627105B2US 12627105 B2US12627105 B2US 12627105B2US-12627105-B2

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a connection component, a connector, a patch cord and a connector inner shell. The connection component is configured to achieve electric connection and includes two connectors. The two connectors have same butt-joint structures and are in a butt joint through the butt-joint structures, the connectors have locking mechanisms, in a locking state, the locking mechanisms lock the two connectors, and the two connectors may be separated after the locking mechanisms are switched to an unlocking state.

Inventors

Xiao-Qing William HUANG
Boyu CUI
Yufeng Zhang
Hai Gao

Assignees

CLOUDMINDS ROBOTICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220929

Claims (10)

1 . A connector, wherein one end of the connector is provided with a butt-joint structure for a butt joint with another connector, the connector has a locking mechanism, and the locking mechanism comprises a locking part for locking the connector and the another connector after the butt joint and an actuating part configured to switch between a locking state and an unlocking state of the locking part; wherein the connector comprises a housing and a plug, the plug extends out of one end of the housing, the housing has a slot for being plugged by a plug of the another connector, and the butt-joint structure comprises the slot and the plug; and a locking matching structure is disposed on a surface of the plug facing away from the slot, and the locking part of the connector is matched with a locking matching structure of the another connector plugged into the slot to lock two of the connectors; wherein the housing comprises an inner housing, the slot is located in the inner housing, the locking part is a first elastic sheet formed on the inner housing and is maintained in the unlocking state by utilizing self-elasticity, and the actuating part is movably disposed on the housing and has a first position where the locking part is pressed to extend into the slot to be in the locking state and a second position where the actuating part is separated from the locking part; and wherein the housing further comprises an outer housing sleeving the inner housing, an operation space exists between the outer housing and the inner housing, the locking part in the unlocking state is located in the operation space, and the actuating part is movably disposed on the outer housing and has an actuating portion extending into the operation space and configured to press the locking part.
2 . The connector according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the locking part and the locking matching structure has magnetism and achieves locking through mutual magnetic attraction.
3 . The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism comprises a clamping part, and the locking mechanism is configured to achieve locking through clamping of the clamping part on the locking matching structure.
4 . The connector according to claim 1 , wherein a conductive terminal is disposed on a surface of the plug next to the slot; or, the locking part and the locking matching structure are conductive parts and configured to achieve electric conduction when matched for locking.
5 . The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the locking part is of an L-shaped structure and comprises a first section tilting by the inner housing and a second section bent relative to the first section, in the locking state, the second section extends into the slot, and the plug is provided with a first groove for being plugged by the second section.
6 . The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the outer housing is provided with a sliding groove extending in a plugging direction of the connector, the actuating part is slidably connected to the sliding groove and has a shifting block extending out of the outer housing, and a direction of the actuating part moving from the second position to the first position is the same as the plugging direction of the connector.
7 . The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism further comprises an elastic part formed on the inner housing, and the elastic part abuts against the actuating part under an action of self-elasticity to provide elasticity keeping the actuating part at the first position; and the elastic part is constructed as a second elastic sheet, the second elastic sheet is of an L-shaped structure and comprises a first connection section tilting by the inner housing and a second connection section bent relative to the first connection section, the first connection section is fixedly connected to the inner housing, and at the second position, the actuating part forces the second connection section to move into the slot.
8 . The connector according to claim 7 , wherein the actuating part comprises a guiding slope making contact with the elastic part and pressing the elastic part when the actuating part slides to the second position.
9 . The connector according to claim 1 , wherein the inner housing is provided with an elastic sheet, the elastic sheet has an arc abutting portion extending into the slot, the plug is provided with a groove, the arc abutting portion is configured to abut against a groove in a plug of the another connector so as to provide damping when two of the connectors are mutually plugged or separated, and when two of the connectors are in the butt joint, the arc abutting portion is configured to provide pre-tightening force between two plugs of two of the connectors.
10 . A patch cord, comprising a cord body and the connector according to claim 1 , wherein the connector is disposed at one end of the cord body; or, both ends of the cord body are provided with the connector.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/CN2021/131574, filed on Nov. 18, 2021, which claims the benefit of priority to Chinese Application No. 202121981906.8, filed on Aug. 20, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The disclosure relates to the technical field of connectors, and particularly relates to a connection component, a connector, a patch cord and a connector inner shell. BACKGROUND A connector is usually divided into a male end and a female end. At present, a connector on a terminal device (e.g., a computer and a mobile phone) is designed with a female end, while a connector on a patch cord (e.g., a USB patch cord) is designed with a male end, and by inserting the male end into the female end, data transmission or charging is realized. This kind of connector that distinguishes male and female polarities mainly has two defects: first, two connectors with the same polarity cannot be plugged; and second, two patch cords cannot be connected in series directly, and can be connected in series only through another connection cord with female heads at both ends. In addition, the two plugged connectors are prone to slipping off. SUMMARY The objects of the disclosure are to provide a connection component, a connector, a patch cord and a connector inner shell so as to solve the problems of distinguishing between male and female polarities and easy slipping off of a connector in the related art. According to a first aspect of the disclosure, a connection component is provided and is configured to achieve electric connection. The connection component includes two connectors, the two connectors have same butt-joint structures and are in a butt joint through the butt-joint structures, the connectors have locking mechanisms, in a locking state, the locking mechanisms lock the two connectors, and the two connectors may be separated after the locking mechanisms are switched to an unlocking state. According to a second aspect of the disclosure, a connector is provided. One end of the connector is provided with a butt-joint structure for butt-joint with the other connector. The connector has a locking mechanism, and the locking mechanism includes a locking part for locking two of the connectors after butt-joint and an actuating part for switching a locking state and an unlocking state of the locking part. According to a third aspect of the disclosure, a patch cord is provided. The patch cord includes a cord body and the connector as described above, the connector is disposed at one end of the cord body. Or, both ends of the cord body are provided with the connector. According to a fourth aspect of the disclosure, a connector inner shell is provided. The connector inner shell has a slot inside and includes a top wall, the top wall is provided with a locking part, and in a locking state, the locking part extends into the slot to lock a butt-joint structure of the other connector plugged into the slot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings are intended to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, form a part of the description, and are used to explain the disclosure together with the following detailed description, but do not constitute a limitation of the disclosure. In the accompanying drawings: FIG. 1 is a stereoscopic diagram of a connector provided in an example of the disclosure; FIG. 2 is a front view of a connector provided in an example of the disclosure; FIG. 3 is a right view of a connector provided in an example of the disclosure; FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a connector provided in an example of the disclosure; FIG. 5 is an exploded view from another angle of a connector provided in an example of the disclosure; FIG. 6 is a schematic matching diagram of two connectors after plugging and in a locking state provided in an example of the disclosure; FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a position A-A in FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a schematic matching diagram of two connectors after plugging and in an unlocking state provided in an example of the disclosure; FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a position B-B in FIG. 8; and FIG. 10 is another implementation of a plug of a connector provided in an example of the disclosure. DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 10—first connector; 20—second connector; 30—cord body; 100—main body; 110—plug; 111—locking matching structure; 112—second groove; 120—slot; 130—first terminal; 140—second terminal; 150—housing; 151—outer housing; 152—inner housing; 153—sliding groove; 160—shared side surface; 170—operation space; 180—conductive terminal; 200—locking part; 210—first section; 220—second section; 300—actuating part; 310—actuating portion; 311—guiding slope; 320—shifting block; 400—elastic part; 410—first connection section; 420—second connection section; 500—third elastic sheet; and 510—arc abutting portion. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The det