Patent Publication Number: US-9425561-B2

Title: High voltage electrical connector

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2014-0153161, filed on Nov. 5, 2014 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a high voltage electrical connector and, more particularly, to a high voltage electrical connector having improved electromagnetic wave blocking performance and a reduced weight. 
     BACKGROUND 
     A high voltage electrical connector is used to connect signal and power paths to components or connect signal and power paths from components. Efforts to reduce fuel costs and environmental pollution have led the automobile industry to develop electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. Electric systems of automobiles include components that operate at a high voltage and require a high voltage path including a connector. A high voltage path and a connector are configured to transmit power between components. Electric systems also include components that operate at a low voltage and include a low voltage path and a connector. The low voltage path and the connector are configured to transmit a control signal between components. Since high voltage systems and low voltage systems are adjacent to each other, various connectors are required to be protected from electrical interference. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art while advantages achieved by the prior art are maintained intact. Aspects of the present disclosure provide the following advantages: 
     First, a weight of a high voltage electrical connector may be reduced. 
     Second, electromagnetic waves generated in the high voltage electrical connector may be shielded. 
     Third, vibrations applied to the high voltage electrical connector may be absorbed. 
     Technical subjects of the present disclosure are not limited to the foregoing technical subjects and any other technical subjects not mentioned will be clearly understood by a skilled person in the art from the following description. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a high voltage electrical connector may include a plug assembly and a header coupled to the plug assembly, wherein the plug assembly may include a housing that forms an appearance; a plug inserted into the housing to be inserted into the header; and a shielding cover that shields electromagnetic waves emitted from the plug, covers the plug, and is inserted into the housing. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a high voltage electrical connector may include a plug assembly and a header coupled to the plug assembly, wherein the plug assembly may include a housing that forms an appearance; a plug inserted into the housing to be inserted into the header; a shielding cover that shields electromagnetic waves emitted from the plug and having an elastically deformable ground protrusion that protrudes from the edge to fix the header; and a rear cover coupled to a rear end of the housing and pushing the shielding cover in a direction toward the header. 
     Specific matters of other exemplary embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is an exemplary view of a high voltage electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is an exemplary detailed view of the high voltage electrical connector according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3  is an exemplary view of a plug assembly according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4  is an exemplary detailed view of a ground protrusion of  FIG. 1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is an exemplary cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 6  is an exemplary view illustrating tightly attaching protrusions formed within a rear cover according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similar term as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such as passenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety of boats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g. fuels derived from resources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example both gasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/of” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     Unless specifically stated or obvious from context, as used herein, the term “about” is understood as within a range of normal tolerance in the art, for example within 2 standard deviations of the mean. “About” can be understood as within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the stated value. Unless otherwise clear from the context, all numerical values provided herein are modified by the term “about.” 
     Advantages and features of the present disclosure, and implementation methods thereof will be clarified through following exemplary embodiments described with reference to the accompanying to drawings. 
     The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. Further, the present disclosure is only defined by scopes of claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
     Hereinafter, a high voltage electrical connector  1  according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  FIG. 1  is an exemplary view of a high voltage electrical connector  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 2  is an exemplary detailed view of the high voltage electrical connector  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 3  is an exemplary view of a plug assembly  10  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 3 , the high voltage electrical connector  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a plug assembly  10  and a header  70  coupled to the plug assembly  10 . The plug assembly  10  may include a housing  20  that forms an appearance (e.g., forms the shell of the plug assembly), a plug  30  inserted into the housing  20  to be inserted into the header  70 , and a shielding cover  40  that shields electromagnetic waves emitted from the plug  30 , covers the plug  30 , and is inserted into the housing  20 . The header  70  may be formed of aluminum, coupled to the plug  30 , and may contact the shielding cover  40  to block leakage of electromagnetic waves. 
     The housing  20  may be formed of plastic, may receive the plug  30  inserted therein, and the housing  20  may be coupled to the header  70  with a lever coupled to an outer portion of the housing  20 , serving as an external case. The shielding cover  40  may be an electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding mechanism formed of a thin metal plate member. The plug  30  may be coupled to a connector within the header  70  disposed adjacent to a motor. The shielding cover  40  may be a plate member formed of a metal, and the housing  20  may be formed of plastic. 
     The shielding cover  40  may include a radial protrusion  41  that protrudes from the edge of the shielding cover  40  to block electromagnetic waves leaked to a gap with the header  70 . The radial protrusion  41  may overlap with the header  70  in a predetermined portion to block electromagnetic waves leaked to a gap between the header  70  and the plug  30 . When the plug assembly  10  and the header  70  are coupled, the header  70  may contact (e.g., may touch, abut, or the like) the radial protrusion  41  of the shielding cover  40 . In particular, the radial protrusion may have predetermined elastic force, allowing the header  70  to be safely brought into contact with the shielding cover  40 . Accordingly, leakage of electromagnetic waves may be minimized in spite of the gap that may be generated during manufacturing and assembling process of the connector. 
       FIG. 4  is an exemplary detailed view of a ground protrusion  43  of  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 4 , the shielding cover  40  may have an elastically deformable ground protrusion  43  that protrudes from the edge to fix the header  70 . The ground protrusion  43  and the radial protrusion  41  may be elastically deformable. Additionally, a plurality of ground protrusions  43  and protrusions  41  may be formed on the edges of the shielding cover  40 . Thus, the radial protrusions  41  and the ground protrusions  43  may be configured to absorb vibrations in an axial direction of the plug  30  and vibrations in a height direction of the plug  30 . 
       FIG. 5  is an exemplary cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , the high voltage electrical connector  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a coupling member  50  inserted into the plug  30  by penetrating through the housing  20  and the shielding cover  40 . The coupling member  50  may be coupled to an upper portion of the housing  20 , and may be configured to prevent a relative movement of the housing  20 , the shielding cover  40 , and the plug  30 . One side (e.g., a first side) of the coupling member  50  may be inserted into the plug  30  and the other side (e.g., a second side) of the coupling member  50  may be in contact with (e.g., may abut) a cable shield  63  to fix the cable shield  63  to the rear cover  60 . 
     The high voltage electrical connector  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a rear cover  60  inserted into a rear side of the housing  20  to push the shielding cover  40  in a direction toward the header  70 . The rear cover may be coupled to the rear side of the housing  20  and may be configured to push the shielding cover  40  in a forward direction. Thus, the shielding cover  40  may be pushed in the direction toward the header  70 . The pushing force allows the header  70  and the shielding cover  40  to be more stably in elastic contact. In addition, an electromagnetic wave blocking effect may increase. 
     The high voltage electrical connector  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure may include a cable shield  63  inserted into an interior of the rear cover  60  to establish a ground. The shielding cover  40  may be continuously exposed to electromagnetic waves. In particular, an eddy current, an induced current, and the like, may be generated in each component due to electromagnetic waves. When such a current is not effectively removed, electrical performance of a product may be affected or the security of a service worker or an operator of a product may be threatened. Thus, to effectively remove an eddy current, an induced current, and the like, the cable shield  63  may be included in the assembly. 
     When the plug assembly  10  and the header  70  are coupled, upper and lower sides may need to be distinguished due to electrical characteristics or structural characteristics. In the present disclosure, when the plug assembly  10  and the header  70  are coupled in a manner different from a designer&#39;s intention, the header  70  and the plug  30  may not be easily coupled, thus preventing erroneous coupling. 
       FIG. 6  is an exemplary view illustrating tightly attaching protrusions  61  formed within the rear cover  60  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to  FIG. 6 , the rear cover  60  may include the attaching protrusions  61  that protrude from the inside to attach the cable shield  63  to the shielding cover  40  (e.g., to fix the cable shield  63  to the shielding cover  40 ). 
     One side (e.g., a first side) of the coupling member  50  may be inserted into the plug  30  and the other side (e.g., a second side) of the coupling member  50  may abut the cable shield  63 , thus fixing the cable shield  63  to the rear cover  60 . In a high voltage electrical connector  1  according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure including a plug assembly  10  and a header  70  coupled to the plug assembly, the plug assembly  10  may include a housing  20  that forms an appearance (e.g., forms the shell of the assembly); a plug  30  inserted into the housing  20  to be inserted into the header  70 ; a shielding cover  40  that shields electromagnetic waves emitted from the plug  30  (e.g., protects the assembly from the electromagnetic waves) and having an elastically deformable ground protrusion  43  that protrude from the edge to fix the header  70 ; and a rear cover  60  coupled to a rear end of the housing  20  and pushing the shielding cover  40  in a direction toward the header  70 . 
     According to the high voltage electrical connector  1  according to the present disclosure, a product manufactured through dicasting may be formed of plastic, thus reducing a weight of the product. Additionally, the plastic component may have an electromagnetic (EMI) shielding function. The joint between the connector and the header  70  may be configured to perform EMI shielding by a simplified structure. The high voltage electrical connector may have a vibration absorption structure. Further, the plug  30 , the shielding cover  40 , and the housing  20  may be assembled to have a simplified structure. Thus, assembly efficiency may be enhanced to secure productivity. 
     According to the present disclosure, the following advantages are obtained: 
     First, a weight of the high voltage electrical connector may be reduced. 
     Second, electromagnetic waves generated by the high voltage electrical connector may be shielded. 
     Third, vibrations applied to the high voltage electrical connector may be absorbed. 
     The advantages and effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the aforesaid, and any other advantages and effects not described herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from descriptions of claims. 
     The present disclosure described above may be variously substituted, altered, and modified by those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure pertains without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings.