Electrical connectors – Coupling part with actuating means urging contact to move...
Patent
1999-08-04
2000-10-24
Paumen, Gary F.
Electrical connectors
Coupling part with actuating means urging contact to move...
H01R 1362
Patent
active
061357987
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automotive battery plug that is fitted into an automotive cigar lighter socket and electrically connected thereto to supply power to portable equipment carried in a motor vehicle.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
In recent years, a lot of in-car electrical equipment, such as car navigation equipment and communication equipment, have been commercially manufactured, and at the same time, car battery plugs have come into wide use to derive power from vehicle-mounted cigar lighter sockets for supply to those equipment.
FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic representation of the construction of a conventional automotive battery plug indicated generally by 100, which has a cylindrical plug housing 101 and an insulating cap 102 threadably attached to the forward end portion of the plug housing 101. The insulating cap 102 has a through hole 102a, through which a head terminal 103 is inserted in a manner to be movable back and forth. As shown, a shoulder 103a of the head terminal 103 abuts against a stepped portion formed in the through hole 102 to limit outward movement of the head terminal 103. The head terminal 103 has in its rear end a circularly-sectioned recess 103b opening rearward, which receives a tip-end terminal 106a of a fuse tube 106, establishing electric connections between the terminal 106a and the head terminal 103.
Disposed in the plug housing 101 centrally thereof is a fixed terminal 105, which is fixed to the plug housing 101 through a stationary part 104 formed integrally therewith. The fixed terminal 105 has its leg 105a extended rearward and soldered to a power-supply lead wire of a power cord not shown. The fixed terminal 105 has a pair of opposed arms 105b, which have their opposing surfaces concavely curved and receive or hold therebetween a conductive coiled spring 107. Between the head terminal 103 and the fixed terminal 105 there are placed in tandem the fuse tube 106 and the conductive coiled spring 107 so that the head terminal 103 is urged by the compressed conductive spring 107 in a direction in which to project out of the forward end of the plug housing 101.
Thus, the head terminal 103 is electrically connected via the fuse tube 106 and the conductive coiled spring 107 to the fixed terminal 105 which is electrically connected to the power-side lead wire of the power cord. The fuse tube 106 forms an overcurrent protection circuit.
Along the opposite sides of the plug housing 101 there are mounted a pair of leaf-spring contact pieces 108, each having its free end portion arcuately bowed or bent inward in a U-letter shape. One of the leaf-spring coils 108 has its leg 108a extended backward and soldered to a grounding lead wire of the power cord, though not shown.
Each leaf-spring contact piece 108 has its leg 108a fixedly fitted in a groove 101a made in the plug housing 101 so that its circularly arcuate contact portion 108b protrudes from the periphery of the plug housing 101 through an opening 109 made in one side thereof.
An inwardly bent return end portion 108c of each leaf-spring contact piece 108 abuts against the outer wall surface 101b of the plug housing 101 which is aligned with the opening 109.
The plug housing 101 comprises a pair of axially-divided half shells, which are joined together by threading a screw (not shown) into a tapped hole 110 after putting the fixed terminal 105, the leaf-spring contact pieces 108 and other parts in one of the half shells and then covering it with the other half shell.
When the automotive battery plug 100 of the above construction is inserted into a cigar lighter socket 111, the contact portions 108b of the leaf-spring contact pieces 108 make resilient contact with the inner wall of a cylindrical grounding terminal 111a, and when the battery body 100 is further pushed into the socket 111, the head terminal 103 is pressed into resilient contact with a power terminal 111b partly exposed on the inner end face of the socket 111. In consequence, the grounding terminal 111a and power terminal 111b o
REFERENCES:
patent: 5261838 (1993-11-01), Fujie
patent: 5263879 (1993-11-01), Sasa
patent: 5897397 (1999-04-01), Yokozawa
patent: 5924895 (1999-06-01), Moji
Saruta Hiroshi
Yokozawa Hiroshi
Mitsubishi Corporation
Nguyen Chi
Paumen Gary F.
SMK Corporation
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