Patent Publication Number: US-9893451-B2

Title: Plug connector having a terminal protector

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present disclosure relates to a plug connector having a movable terminal protector and associated elastic elements. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0333432, published on Nov. 19, 2015, discloses a plug connector comprising a magnetic element having a cavity; a contact protector movably accommodated in the cavity, the protector defining a front end and a plurality of slots through the front end; a plurality of retractable, e.g., POGO-type, contacts accommodated in the slots, each contact having a front end located in the front end of the contact protector; and an elastic element urging the contact protector to extend the front end thereof out of the cavity. The elastic element is arranged on both sides of the plurality of contacts such that the dimension of the accommodating cavity is increased. 
     An improved plug connector is desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a plug connector of a reduced size. 
     To achieve the above object, a plug connector comprises: a sleeve having a receiving cavity; and a terminal module including a fixed body received in the receiving cavity, an insulative housing located in front of the fixed body and extended beyond the sleeve, a magnetic element received in the sleeve, a plurality of movable terminals, and a plurality of elastic elements, the insulative housing having a plurality of through holes, one end of the movable terminal being received in a corresponding through hole, the other end of the movable terminal being fixed on the fixed body, one end of the elastic element bearing against the insulative housing, the other end of the elastic element bearing against the fixed body, the movable terminals in non-retracted state being located inwardly of the insulative housing, the insulative housing being operable to move backwards urging against the elastic elements and exposing the movable terminals in retracted state out of the insulative housing; wherein the movable terminals are sheathed in the elastic elements. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a plug connector adapted to be mated with a receptacle connector; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the plug connector is ready to be mated with a receptacle connector; 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view of plug connector as show in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a further exploded view of plug connector as shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is another exploded view of plug connector as shown in  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is across section view of plug connector taken along line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 7  is across section view of plug connector taken along line  7 - 7  in  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 7 , a plug connector  100  adapted to be matched with receptacle connector  200  by magnetic attraction. The plug connector  100  includes a cylinder sleeve  1 , a terminal module  10 , and a cable  9  behind the terminal module  2 . 
     The cylinder sleeve  1  comprises a receiving cavity  11  through the cylinder sleeve  1  in front to back direction and a plurality of side walls  12  around the receiving cavity  11 . 
     The terminal module  10  including a fixed body  7  received in the receiving cavity  11 , an insulative housing  3  located in front of the fixed body  7  and extended beyond the cylinder sleeve  1 , a magnetic element  6  received in the cylinder sleeve  1  and around the insulative housing  3 , a metal shell  2  enclosed in the insulative housing  3 , a plurality of elastic elements  5 , and a plurality of movable terminals  4  arranged along the transverse direction. The fixed body  7  is used for fixing the rear end of the movable terminals  4  and includes a fixing member  71  and a module  72  assembled at rear end of the fixing member  71 . The fixing member  71  includes a plurality of pinholes  711 , the movable terminals  4  extending through the corresponding pinholes  711 . The module  72  includes a plurality of grooves  721 , and the movable terminals  4  are inserted into the grooves  721 . The insulative housing  3  includes a plurality of through holes  31  extending along the front to back direction. The movable terminals  4  may penetrate the through hole  31 . The through hole  31  includes a first through hole  311  and a second through hole  312  behind the first through hole  311 , the diameter of the second through hole  312  being larger than the diameter of the first through hole  311 . One end of the elastic elements  5  is received in the second through hole  312  and bears against the inner wall of the second through hole  312  and the first through hole  311 . The magnetic element  6  is made of a magnetic material and can be attracted by corresponding socket magnetic element  201  on the receptacle connector  200  to provide the connecting force between the plug connector  100  and the receptacle connector  200 . The magnetic element  6  is approximately “D” shape and sheathed on the rear end of the metal shell  2 . In this embodiment, the magnetic element  6  is a magnet. One end of the movable terminals  4  is received in the corresponding through hole  31 , the other end is fixed on the corresponding grooves  721  of the module  72 . In this embodiment, the movable terminals  4  are pogo pins and include springs. 
     The elastic element  5  is sheathed on the movable terminals  4  so as to save the space of the receiving cavity  11 , thereby reducing the size of the plug connector  100 . One end of the elastic element  5  bears against the insulative housing  3  and the other end bears against the fixed body  7 . In this embodiment, elastic elements  5  are springs. The diameter of the cross section of the elastic element  5  is larger than the diameter of the pinhole  711  of the fixing member  71 . 
     When the plug connector  100  is in a non working condition (not mated with the receptacle connector), the movable terminals  4  are located in the through hole  31  of the insulative housing  3 . When the plug connector  100  is in a working condition (mated with the receptacle connector), magnetic element  6  and socket magnetic element  201  are attracted to each other. The insulative housing  3  is moved backwards by the force of the external force to drive the elastic elements  5  to be compressed backward, and the movable terminals  4  are exposed to the outside of the insulative housing  3 . The plug connector  100  and the receptacle connector  200  are mated together and the movable terminals  4  are contacted with the socket terminal  202  to complete the electrical connection. 
     While a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention has been shown and described, equivalent modifications and changes known to persons skilled in the art according to the spirit of the present invention are considered within the scope of the present invention as described in the appended claims.