AU700940B2

AU700940B2 - Multipin connector

Info

Publication number: AU700940B2
Application number: AU33039/95A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Bertrand Courtaigne
Original assignee: Blue Moon WW SA
Current assignee: Blue Moon WW SA
Priority date: 1995-03-27
Filing date: 1995-10-03
Publication date: 1999-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 2015-10-03
Also published as: FR2732519A1; SE9601123L; SE515189C2; AU3303995A; SE9601123D0; FR2732519B1

Description

Ift pOOO 11 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act, 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT TO BE COMPLETED BY THE APPLICANT NAME OF APPLICANT: ACTUAL INVENTOR(S): ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: INVENTION TITLE: DETAILS OF ASSOCIATED APPLICATION NO(S): BLUE MOON WW S.A.

BERTRAND COURTAIGNE Peter Maxwell Associates Blaxland House, Suite 10, 5 Ross Street, NORTH PARRAMATTA NSW 2151 MULTIPIN CONNECTOR AU PM 8514 30/09/94 FR 95/03660 27/03/95

I

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it know to me:- This invention relates to electrical connectors having a metallic cover and insulated contacts.

Industrial electrical connectors must often be protected by a cover against water splashing or dust. When this cover is made of metal and is closed, the insulation distance between the female contacts of prior art connectors and the cover may be insufficient to guarantee good insulation.

This shortcoming is particularly troublesome when an electrical installation is tested by subjecting it to a high test voltage. It is thus advantageous to improve the insulation of the contacts in relation to the metallic covers of these connector elements which carry the voltage, the phase contacts of which are usually female and which are liable to be energized in a disconnected situation with the cover closed.

A known means of overcoming this shortcoming consists in equipping the front of the female contact with a rotary cover mounted on a spring and activated in one manner or another by the action of the male connector. This complicated and costly solution in only very poorly applicable to polluted industrial environments not well suited to moving systems.

The object of the present invention is to improve the insulation of the phase contacts of an electrical connector in relation to the metallic cover of the connector.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a male electrical connector comprising a body of insulating material having a recess for receiving a complementary female connector, a metallic cover mounted on the body adapted to close the recess when the female connector is not present, a plurality of male cunnector pin cavities in the S body each of which opens to the recess for the female connector and a V 16/11/98 w male connector pin in each male pin cavity, each said male connector pin being supported at one end by the insulating body and having at its other end an insulating cap that faces the cover when the cover is closed.

In the preferred form of the invention, the insulating cap encapsulates the end of the male pin and extends along the contact pin.

Preferably, the insulating cap is secured to the male contact pin without the use of a retaining pin.

Unlike the prior art, the contacts of the connector are male contacts embedded in insulating material and protected at their ends by the insulating cap. It will be appreciated that the insulating cap increases the insulation distance between the exposed part of the male contact and the metallic cover.

It will also be appreciated that the insulation of the male contact by the cap is much simpler and less costly than the equivalent insulation of a contact with a female cavity or the complete insulation of an isolator by means of a rotary disc.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electrical connector according to one embodiment of the invention, and Fig. 2 is a partly sectioned side view of the contact and insulating cap of the connector shown in Fig. 1.

PPM -JIC6 -4- The multipin connector 10 shown in Fig. 1 includes a body 11 of insulating material and a metallic cover 12 which is hinged thereto to protect the body 11 from dirt and water.

The connector pin has a recess 13 adapted to receive a female plug (not shown).

The connector 10 has an outer portion 15 having a flange 16 and a cylindrical portion 17 that with the body 11 defines the recess 13. An annular sealing face 18 extends around the periphery of the open end of the cylindrical portion 17 against which a seal 14 on the cover 12 seats.

The body 11 is located within the main portion 15 and carries the connector pins 20 only one of which is shown in Fig. 1.

Each contact 20 is located within a contact cavity 21.

The end 22 of each male contact or connector pin 20 carries an insulating cap 23. The length of the insulating cap 23 is varied according to requirements and as shown in Fig. 2 is attached to the contact or pin 20 by means of an internal thread 30 which engages external thread 31 on the pin When the cap 23 is screwed onto the pin 20, the flange 32 on the cap 23 snaps into groove 23 behind the flange 34 on the pin 20. The cap 23 may, of course, be secured to the pin in other ways.

Various modifications may be made in details of design and construction without departing from the scope and ambit of the invention.

Claims

1. A male electrical connector comprising a body of insulating material having a recess for receiving a complementary female connector, a metallic cover mounted on the body adapted to close the recess when the female connector is not present, a plurality of male connector pin cavities in the body each of which opens to the recess for the female connector and a male connector pin in each male pin cavity, each said male connector pin being supported at one end by the insulating body and having at its other end an insulating cap that faces the cover when the cover is closed.

2. An electrical connector according to claim 1 wherein each insulating cap encapsulates the end of the male pin and extends along the contact pin.

3. The connector of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein each insulating cap is secured to its contact pin without the use of a retaining-pin.

4. An electrical connector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 1 6th day of November 1998. BLUE MOON WW SA By its Patent Attorneys PETER MAXWELL ASSOCIATES i ABSTRACT An electrical connector (10) has a metallic cover (12) and male pins (20) embedded in insulated body (11) and protected on the end by an insulating cap (23).