Patent Publication Number: US-11652311-B2

Title: Connector assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a)-(d) of Chinese Patent Application No. 201922311332.2, filed on Dec. 20, 2019. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a connector assembly and, more particularly, to a connector assembly connecting a single first wire with a pair of second wires. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A type of connector is adapted to electrically connect a single first wire with two second wires simultaneously. The connector usually comprises a housing and integral conductive terminals provided in the housing. One end of each of the conductive terminals has a single first elastic contact arm, and the other end thereof has two second bifurcated elastic contact arms. The first elastic contact arm of each of the conductive terminals is adapted to be brought into elastic and electrical contact with the single first wire, and the two second elastic contact arms of each of the conductive terminals are adapted to be brought into elastic and electrical contact with two second wires, respectively. 
     Because the conductive terminals are integrated, the first wire or the second wires must be pulled out from the connector when the first wire needs to be electrically separated from the second wires, which is very inconvenient to use. In addition, because the conductive terminals are integrated, it is difficult to assemble the conductive terminal into the housing, which increases the difficulty and cost of assembling the connector. 
     SUMMARY 
     A connector assembly includes a first connector and a second connector matable with the first connector. The first connector has a first housing and a pair of first conductive terminals disposed in the first housing each having a pair of first elastic terminals arranged symmetrically in a vertical direction. Each pair of first elastic terminals has a pair of front ends adapted to be brought into elastic and electrical contact with a pair of first wires inserted into the first connector. The second connector has a second housing and a pair of second conductive terminals disposed in the second housing each having a rear end adapted to be brought into elastic and electrical contact with a second wire inserted into the second connector. The pair of first elastic terminals each have a rear end adapted to clamp a front end of one of the second conductive terminals. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which: 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of a connector assembly according to an embodiment in an assembled state; 
         FIG.  2    is an exploded perspective view of the connector assembly; and 
         FIG.  3    is a sectional side view of the connector assembly in the assembled state. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
     The technical solutions of the disclosure will be described hereinafter in further detail with reference to the following embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the description, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar parts. The description of the embodiments of the disclosure hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings is intended to explain the general inventive concept of the disclosure and should not be construed as a limitation on the disclosure. 
     In addition, in the following detailed description, for the sake 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 also be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are illustrated schematically in order to simplify the drawing. 
     A connector assembly according to an embodiment, as shown in  FIGS.  1  to  3   , comprises a first connector  100  and a second connector  200  adapted to be mated with the first connector  100 . The first connector  100  includes a first housing  110  and a pair of first conductive terminals  120  provided in the first housing  110 . The second connector  200  includes a second housing  210  and a pair of second conductive terminals  220  provided in the second housing  210 . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1  to  3   , in the illustrated embodiments, each of the first conductive terminals  120  has a pair of first elastic terminals  121  arranged symmetrically in a vertical direction. The pair of first elastic terminals  121  has rear ends  121   a  adapted to clamp a front end  220   a  of a corresponding one of the second conductive terminals  220 . Front ends  121   b  of the pair of first elastic terminals  121  are adapted to be brought into elastic and electrical contact with two first wires inserted into the first connector  100 , respectively. Each of the second conductive terminals  220  has a rear end  220   b  adapted to be brought into elastic and electrical contact with a second wire inserted into the second connector  200 . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1  to  3   , in the illustrated embodiments, the first housing  110  has a first vertical partition wall  102  adapted to divide an internal space of the first housing  110  into two first insertion cavities  101  arranged side by side in a horizontal direction. The pair of first conductive terminals  120  are inserted into the two first insertion cavities  101 , respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG.  3   , in the illustrated embodiment, the first housing  110  has a first horizontal partition wall  112  located in a rear portion of the first housing  110  and adapted to divide a front portion of each of the first insertion cavities  101  into two first receiving chambers  101   a  arranged in the vertical direction. The front ends  121   b  of the pair of first elastic terminals  121  are received in the two first receiving chambers  101   a , respectively. 
     The two first wires are inserted into the two first receiving chambers  101   a  and are elastically pressed against inner walls of the two first receiving chambers  101   a  by the front ends  121   b  of the pair of first elastic terminals  121 , respectively. The front end  121   b  of each of the first elastic terminals  121  has a piercing edge adapted to pierce into the first wire so that the first elastic terminal  121  is brought into reliable electrical contact with the first wire. 
     As shown in  FIG.  2   , in the illustrated embodiment, the second housing  210  is formed, at a front portion thereof, with a vertical positioning groove  212  adapted to cooperate with the first vertical partition wall  102  of the first housing  110 . The vertical positioning groove  212  is configured to divide the front portion of the second housing  210  into two plug portions  211  arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The two plug portions  211  of the second housing  210  are adapted to be inserted into the two first insertion cavities  101  of the first housing  110 , respectively, and the first vertical partition wall  102  of the first housing  110  is adapted to be inserted into the vertical positioning groove  212  of the second housing  210 . 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1  to  3   , in the illustrated embodiments, the second housing  210  has a second vertical partition wall  202  adapted to divide an interior space of a rear portion of the second housing  210  into two second insertion cavities  201  arranged side by side in the horizontal direction. The pair of second conductive terminals  220  are inserted into the two second insertion cavities  201 , respectively. The front ends  220   a  of the pair of second conductive terminals  220  are received in the two plug portions  211 , respectively. The rear ends  220   b  of the pair of second conductive terminals  220  are received in the two second insertion cavities  201 , respectively. 
     The second wire is inserted into the second insertion cavity  201  and is elastically pressed against the inner wall of the second insertion cavity  201  by the rear end  220   b  of the second conductive terminal  220 . The rear end  220   b  of each of the second conductive terminals  220  has a piercing edge adapted to pierce into the second wire so that the second conductive terminal  220  is brought into reliable electrical contact with the second wire. 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1  and  2   , in the illustrated embodiments, the front end  220   a  of each of the second conductive terminals  220  is tongue-shaped and adapted to be inserted between the rear ends  121   a  of the pair of first elastic terminals  121 . The front end  220   a  of each of the second conductive terminals  220  is clamped by the pair of elastic terminals  121  by elastic deformation forces of the pair of elastic terminals  121 . 
     In the connector assembly according to various embodiments of the disclosure as described, it is possible to quickly realize the connection and separation between a single first wire and a pair of second wires by plugging and unplugging the first connector  100  and the second connector  200 , which is very convenient to use. 
     As shown in  FIGS.  1  to  3   , in the illustrated embodiments, the first connector  100  is adapted to be mated with the second connector  200  in a pluggable manner. The first housing  110  is adapted to be mated with the second housing  210  in a snap-fit manner. In the illustrated embodiments, a snap ring  113  is formed on one of the first housing  110  and the second housing  210 , and an elastic insertion tongue  213  is formed on the other of the first housing  110  and the second housing  210  and is adapted to be inserted into the snap ring  113  and locked together with the snap ring  113 . 
     It should be appreciated by those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrative, and many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art. Further, various structures described in various embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle. Although the disclosure has been described hereinbefore in detail with reference to the attached drawings, it should be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments in the attached drawings are intended to illustrate embodiments of the disclosure by way of example, and should not be construed as a limitation to the disclosure. Although some embodiments of the general inventive concept of the disclosure have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes or modification may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope of which is defined in claims and their equivalents.