Patent Publication Number: US-7214086-B1

Title: Large current connector

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a large current connector and particularly to a connector which includes a male plug and a female socket that can be coupled together rapidly in a latch manner and an insulation member to anchor upper and lower metal plates wedged in the male plug and the female socket to prevent loosening and short circuit caused by deformation. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   Innovations of the peripherals and accessories of electric appliances progress constantly. Among them the connector elements consisting of a male plug and a female socket are widely used. They can be assembled and coupled together easily. However there are still room for improvement especially on enhancing the connectivity and simplifying assembly and coupling. 
   Coupling of the male plug and the female socket of the conventional connector generally adopts screwing elements. In practice, the screwing elements tend to loosen when subject to external forces. Moreover, if screwing holes have a slight deviation on the tolerance, the male plug and the female socket cannot be fastened securely. Not only saving time on assembly and coupling cannot be achieved, electric conductivity also could be affected. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Therefore the primary object of the present invention is to provide a large current connector to solve the problem of the conventional male plug and the female socket that easily loosen due to impact of external forces. The invention provides a male plug and a female socket that can be latched together quickly, and an insulation member to anchor metals plates wedged in the male plug and the female socket to prevent loosening and short circuit caused by deformation. 
   To achieve the foregoing object, the large current connector of the invention includes a male plug and a female socket. The male plug has a shell, a coupling member, a first upper metal plate and a first lower metal plate. The female socket has a sleeve, an insulation member, a second upper metal plate and a second lower metal plate. The sleeve has latch cavities on two sides corresponding to elastic latch elements on two sides of the shell so that they can be coupled together easily. 
   By means of the structure set forth above, significant benefits can be achieved, notably: 
   1. The male plug and the female socket can be made in a smaller size. A planar contact is formed that can minimize contact resistance. Hence it can channel a larger current and also facilitate installation and fastening. 
   2. The shell of the male plug has the elastic latch elements on two sides of a coupling end to form a secure engagement with the latch cavities of the female socket. Loosening can be avoided. 
   3. The first upper and lower metal plates wedged in the male plug is formed with an arched angle on a wedge end to facilitate insertion of the metal plates into the latch trough of the shell and coupling member to form a firm anchoring. Therefore short circuit caused by deformation of the upper and lower metal plates due to external factors or other reasons can be prevented. 
   4. The insulation member in the female socket separates and anchor the second upper and lower metal plates. Hence deformation and short circuit can be prevented. 
   5. After the male plug and the female socket are coupled, the insulation member can enhance the connectivity to prevent loosening of the male plug and the female socket. 
   6. The shell of the male plug is formed with trapezoidal surfaces to facilitate finger depressing. The end surfaces have anti-slip transverse traces or ridges to make plugging and unplugging easier. 
   Further scope of the applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is an exploded view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view of the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Please referring to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the large current connector  10  according to the invention includes a male plug  20  and a female socket  30 . 
   The male plug  20  includes a shell  21 , a coupling member  23 , a first upper metal plate  24  and a first lower metal plate  25 . The shell  21  has two ends formed respectively a hollow body  201  and  202  that are interposed by latch troughs  2010 . One end has a trapezoidal surface  204  with anti-slip transverse traces  203  (or ridges) formed thereon. Another end forms a coupling end  205  which has elastic latch elements  206  on two sides and a flute  207  on another side. The coupling member  23  has a latch end  231  on one end that mates the hollow body  201  of the shell  21  and has latch flutes  232  and  233  on a upper end and a lower end, and a first connection end  234  on another end to be run through by a core  22 . The first upper and lower metal plates  24  and  25  run through the latch troughs  2010  and are wedged in the latch flutes  232  and  233 , and have one end formed respectively a wedge end  240  and  250  with an arched angle and another end to become an insertion hole end  241  and  251 . 
   The female socket  30  includes a sleeve  31 , an insulation member  32 , a second upper metal plate  33  and a second lower metal plate  34  (referring to  FIG. 3 ). The sleeve  31  is hollow and has a coupling cavity  311  on one end and a latch member  3110  on a upper side of the cavity  311  mating the flute  207  of the coupling end  205 , and a second connection end  312  on another end, and two latch cavities  313  on two sides engageable with the elastic latch elements  206  of the coupling end  205 . The insulation member  32  is located in the coupling cavity  311  and has two coupling troughs  320  on two sides and a contact end  321  on one end and an insertion end  322  on another end close to the coupling troughs  320 . The second upper and lower metal plates  33  and  34  are wedged in the coupling troughs  320  of the insulation member  32 , and have a wedge end  330  and  340  on one end and a connection hole end  331  and  341  on another end. 
   The elastic latch elements  206  of the coupling end  205  of the male plug  20  can be wedged in the latch cavities  313  of the female socket  30  to form a secure coupling without loosening off. 
   The arched angle (not shown in the drawings) on the wedge ends  240  and  250  of the first upper and lower metal plates  24  and  25  make insertion of the first metal plates  24  and  25  into the latch troughs  2010  easier, and allow the first metal plates  24  and  25  to be wedged in the latch flutes  232  and  233  to form a secured anchoring without deforming and short circuit due to external or other factors. 
   Referring to  FIG. 3 , the first and second metal plates  24 ,  25 ,  33  and  34  in the male plug  20  and female socket  30  are isolated and anchored by the insulation member  32 . The connectivity can be enhanced, and short circuit caused by deformation can be prevented. Loosening of the male plug  20  and female socket  30  also can be avoided. 
   In addition, the anti-slip transverse traces  204  or ridges on the trapezoidal surface  204  of the shell  21  make plugging and unplugging easier. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the flute  207  on the coupling end  205  of the male plug  20  is aligned with the latch member  3110  of the female socket  30 , thus the hollow body  202  of the male plug  21  can be coupled with the insulation member  32  that has the second upper and lower metal plates  33  and  34  wedged thereon; the elastic latch elements  206  of the shell  21  can directly latch in the latch cavities  313  of the sleeve  31  to form a rapid coupling of the male plug  20  and the female socket  30 . As the metal plates  24 ,  25 ,  33  and  24  are anchored on the insulation member  32 , deformation can be prevented, and short circuit can be avoided, and loosening of the male plug  20  and female socket  30  also can be prevented. Connectivity can be enhanced, fabrication and assembly of the large current connector  10  is easier, and production time can be reduced. 
   In short, the large current connector  10  of the invention has the following main features: the male plug  20  and the female socket  30  are coupled rapidly in a latch manner, the insulation member  32  can anchor the upper and lower metals plates  24 ,  25 ,  33  and  34  to prevent loosening and short circuit caused by deformation. 
   The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.