CN107548529B

CN107548529B - Electrical plug-in connector

Info

Publication number: CN107548529B
Application number: CN201680023054.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 克里斯蒂安·布拉默; 托比亚斯·武斯特拉克
Original assignee: Wabco GmbH
Current assignee: ZF CV Systems Europe BV; ZF CV Systems Hannover GmbH
Priority date: 2015-05-27
Filing date: 2016-05-14
Publication date: 2020-05-12
Anticipated expiration: 2036-05-14
Also published as: WO2016188616A1; EP3304651B1; DE102015007725B4; CN107548529A; DE102015007725A1; EP3304651A1

Abstract

The electrical plug connector (10) is used to establish an electrical contact between a circuit board (18) and an external connection. For this purpose, the plug-in connector (10) is often associated with a plurality of pins (14) which form electrical connection terminals. Electrical plug connectors (10) are known as follows: wherein the mounting of the plurality of pins (14) is difficult due to limited space and is therefore time consuming and susceptible to vibrations. The invention provides an electrical plug connector (10), which electrical plug connector (10) can be produced simply and is very durable. For this purpose, a lead frame (19) having at least one conductor (15) is fixedly arranged in a holder (20).

Description

Electrical plug-in connector

Technical Field

The invention relates to an electrical plug connector.

Background

Electrical plug connectors are used to establish electrical contact between an electrical device or circuit board (e.g., PCB, printed circuit board) and an external connection mechanism, such as a plug. For this purpose, the plug connector is often assigned a plurality of pins which form electrical connection terminals. Via each individual pin of the plug connector, individual contacts on the circuit board can be driven by the conductor.

Electrical plug connectors are known in which the installation of a plurality of pins is difficult and therefore time-consuming due to the limited space. It is known, for example, from DE 102006062313 to move a plug pin arrangement, which is assigned to the connection side via a conductor track, into a plug strip. This movement of the plug pin arrangement into the potting groove requires a high expenditure and is therefore time-consuming and costly.

A further disadvantage of the plug connectors known from the prior art is that the pins of the plug connectors are very susceptible to vibrations and extreme temperatures. In this way, it may occur, for example, that in devices which are subjected to increased vibrations, the pins in the plug connector become loose and faulty contacts or short circuits occur in the plug connector. Similar risks exist at high or low temperatures. Due to the local tension of the material, the individual pins in the plug connector may come loose, whereby, in addition to the above-mentioned disadvantages, moisture and dirt may also be introduced into the plug connector.

Disclosure of Invention

Starting from this, the invention is based on the object of providing an electrical plug connector which is simple to produce and is very robust with respect to mechanical and thermal environmental influences.

The electrical plug connector for solving this object has a coupling part to which a plurality of pins are assigned, wherein the pins can be electrically connected in each case by means of a conductor to a contact section of a contact strip which is arranged in a housing, wherein at least one lead frame with at least one of the conductors is fixedly arranged in a holder, characterized in that each pin is formed integrally from the at least one lead frame together with a conductor and a contact section, wherein the lead frame has in each case a strain relief in the region of the conductor.

It is therefore provided that, in the electrical plug connector according to the invention, a plurality of pins are arranged in the coupling part, wherein the pins can be electrically connected in each case via conductors to contact portions of contact strips, which are arranged in particular in the housing. According to the invention, at least one conductor is arranged in a lead frame, and the lead frame is arranged fixedly in a holder. By this arrangement of the lead frame with at least one conductor in the holder, the conductor arrangement becomes very compact and durable. Mechanical vibrations on the conductor are absorbed by the holder. From the point of view of manufacturing technology, the holder may also be referred to as a semi-finished product.

A further embodiment of the invention may provide that at least one leadframe is fixedly embedded (eingegossen), preferably injection-molded, in the holder, in particular that the leadframe is mounted in the holder before embedding or injection-molding. Therefore, the holder may be formed of a frame-type body or a rectangular parallelepiped in which the conductor is arranged. By embedding the lead frame, a very compact and easily operable conductor arrangement is achieved. After the conductors are embedded in the retainers, the stamped bridge portions of the lead frame connecting the pins and/or conductors may be removed.

The invention can further provide that: at least one pin and/or at least one conductor and/or at least one contact are formed by at least one leadframe, in particular each pin together with a conductor and a contact is integrally formed by at least one leadframe. Thus, an integrated conductor block consisting of the pin, the conductor and the contact is punched out of the lead frame and arranged in the holder. In this case, according to the invention, it can be provided that the pin is fixedly connected to the holder, in particular is embedded or sealed (eingespritzt) in the holder. Due to this integration of the conductor block and the insertion into the holder, the production of the plug connector becomes extremely simple.

The invention further provides that a plurality of lead frames, each having pins, conductors and contacts arranged next to one another, are arranged one above the other, in particular embedded or encapsulated in a holder, in order to form a plurality of rows of pins, conductors and contacts. It is also conceivable that any arrangement of the pins can be realized by the lead frame. If the individual leadframes are arranged one above the other, the individual leadframes are each at a sufficiently large distance from one another that the pins or lines or contacts do not interfere with one another or break through.

Preferably, the invention can further provide that the holder with the at least one leadframe can be connected, in particular can form a snap-fit connection, to the coupling part and/or the housing, preferably can be potted, in particular injection molded, or glued to the coupling part and/or the housing. The holder and the leadframe or the fixedly associated pins, conductors and contacts are embodied as one-piece parts which can be brought together with the other parts when the plug connector is assembled. In this way, the holder with the pins can be plugged together with the coupling piece of the plug connector.

A further alternative embodiment can provide that the holder is plugged into a housing of the electrical device or is plugged through the housing into the coupling piece. By the fixed assignment of the pins to the holder, the pin arrangement becomes very compact and can be operated simply.

In particular, the invention can also provide that: the contact strips are associated with the lead frame in a manner decoupled from the housing and/or the coupling part; in particular, the contact strip is assigned to a circuit board or a printed circuit board. By decoupling the contact strip from the housing or from the coupling, all mechanical impact actions or vibrations are decoupled from the contact strip. Thus, by decoupling the contact strip from the housing and/or the coupling, a mechanical resistance to vibrations may be provided. Alternatively, the circuit board can also be a switching circuit of an electrical device with any contact.

A further embodiment of the invention provides that the contact or the leadframe is at least partially embedded, in particular injection-molded or stamped or pressed or welded, in the contact strip. Thereby, a continuous constant connection is provided between the contact strip and the pin. Due to the integrity of the pins, conductors and contacts, the plug connector or contacts become extremely durable. The type of connection between the conductor and the pin or the contact is determined by the material or type of manufacture of the component parts. Furthermore, the contact type can be varied according to the requirements for the electrical plug connection.

In addition, it may be provided that the lead frame has a strain relief portion in the region of the conductor, in particular the strain relief portion is formed in a meandering manner, preferably the strain relief portion is punched out of the lead frame in a meandering manner. The serpentine-like strain relief is a type of spring element that can compensate or dampen the relative movement between the pin and the contact or between the semi-finished product and the contact strip. The meandering-like design of the conductors and their fastening in the holder or on the contact strip lead to a robust electrical connection in the plug connector.

The invention can provide that: the serpentine-shaped strain relief is oriented parallel to the pressing plane of the lead frame. Furthermore, according to the invention, provision can also be made for: the lead frame conductors between the pins and the contacts are arranged parallel to each other, in particular the strain relief portions are arranged parallel to each other. In this respect, a parallel arrangement of the conductors is advantageous, since contact of the individual conductors is thus avoided. Since the ends of all the conductors are located in the holder or on a common rigid contact strip, the conductors move in a uniform manner in the event of a relative movement between the holder and the contact strip. Thus, short circuits due to at least temporary contact of the conductors can be avoided. However, it is also conceivable according to the invention for the conductors to be arranged non-parallel to one another, in particular arbitrarily relative to one another.

The invention can further provide that: the lead frame is bent at the transition from the pin to the conductor and from the conductor to the contact, in particular has an offset from the stamping plane. By means of such a deflection, the leads or conductors associated with different lead frames arranged one above the other can be brought into the same plane of the contact strip. These deflections vary greatly depending on the positioning of the individual lead frames in the holder. For the lead frame arranged on the uppermost portion, the deflection between the pin and the conductor or between the conductor and the contact portion is the largest; while the deflection of the lead frame arranged on the lowermost portion is minimal. The manufacture of the deflection portions on the individual lead frames takes place before embedding in the holder, but this can also take place after embedding in the holder.

Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the invention are subsequently further elucidated on the basis of the drawing. In the drawings:

figure 1 shows a perspective view of an electrical plug connector,

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view through the electrical plug connector, and

fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the holder.

Detailed Description

For connecting the electrical device or the switching circuit of the electrical device with an external device or a plug, the electrical device can have an electrical plug connector 10. The electrical plug connector 10 shown in fig. 1 is arranged in a housing 11 of an electrical device which is only depicted. In order to accommodate an external connection mechanism, which is not shown, the electrical plug connector 10 has a coupling piece 12. The coupling piece 12 extends through a wall 13 into the housing 11 of the electrical device.

Via a plurality of pins 14 arranged in a grid, the external connection can be connected to a circuit board 18 via conductors 15 assigned to the pins 14 (fig. 1, 2).

In the embodiment shown here, the pins 14 are arranged in a multi-column manner in the electrical plug connector 10. The housing-side ends of the pins 14 are each integrally transformed into a conductor 15. The conductors 15 are each likewise transformed in one piece into a contact 16, which contact 16 is assigned to a contact strip 17. Via this contact strip 17, an electrical contact of each pin 14 with the circuit board 18 is established (fig. 1).

The conductor 15 draws a meandering tension relief portion 21 (fig. 3) between the lead 14 and the contact portion 16. For the pins 14 arranged in a row, the strain relief portions 21 run side by side. Since the embodiment of the electrical plug connector 10 shown here has a plurality of rows of pins 14, a plurality of meandering conductors 15 are stacked in parallel offset fashion (fig. 3). However, the present invention is not limited to the arrangement of pins 14 shown in fig. 3; on the contrary, it is also conceivable for the plug connector to have only a few pins 14, or a plurality of pins in any desired arrangement.

The pin 14, the conductor 15 and the contact 16 form the lead frame 19 as a single coherent part, i.e. the pin 14, the conductor 15 and the contact 16 are punched out in one piece in succession. The lead frames 19 form a row of the leads 14, the conductors 15, and the contacts 16 arranged side by side, respectively. Since the pin 14, the conductor 15 and the contact 16 are made of a single coherent piece of material, they are constructed in one piece. In the exemplary embodiment of the plug connector 10 shown in the figures, three lead frames 19 are arranged one above the other. In order to place the contacts 16 in the plane of the contact strips 17, the lead frame 19 or each "pin-conductor-contact triplet" has two deflections 22. These deflections 22 describe the deflections from the punching plane (fig. 3). The deflection 22 of the conductor 15 differs greatly depending on the positioning of the individual lead frames 19.

The lead frame 19, or the pin 14, the conductor 15 and the contact 16, is fixedly associated with a holder 20 (fig. 3) in an electrically insulated manner. The holder 20 forms a cuboid-shaped receptacle and is cast or injection-molded at least partially around the lead frame 19 or around the leads 14 and/or the conductors 15, preferably only after the lead frame 19 has been fitted in the holder 20. Plastics are generally used for this purpose. It can thus be provided that: at least one lead frame 19 is first mounted in a holder 20 and then encapsulated, for example with plastic, around it.

The contact portion 16 is embedded, sealed, stamped, pressed or welded into the contact strip 17. By means of the invention, a durable and robust connection is established between the connection means and the circuit board 18 by the contact 16 being fixedly connected into the contact strip 17 or the pin 14 being fixedly connected into the holder 20 and by the meandering-like design of the conductor 15.

The lead frame 19 is prefabricated together with the conductors 15, the pins 14 and the contacts 16, and the holder 20 is plugged into the coupling piece 12 for the final assembly of the plug connector 10. For this purpose, the holder 20 and/or the coupling element 12 can have snap-in elements, for example. Therefore, the holder 20 may also be referred to as a semi-finished product. Furthermore, the coupling part 12 is assigned an opening which corresponds exactly to the arrangement of the pins 14 and is used to accommodate the pins 14. To additionally reinforce the mechanical connection, provision may be made for: the retainer 20 is potted with the coupler 12.

The contact strips 17 which are contacted by the contact portions 16 are associated with the circuit board 18 in a manner decoupled from the coupling part 12 or from the housing 11. The contact strip 17 can be screwed, clamped or glued to the circuit board 18, for example.

Another embodiment may provide that: the coupling piece 12 is placed on the wall 13 from the outside, and the holder 20 together with the pins 14 and the conductor 15 is moved from the inside of the housing 11 through the wall 13 into the coupling piece 12 and, if necessary, potted. In this way, the electrical plug connector 10 can be fixedly connected with the electrical device or housing 11.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments of the invention shown herein; it is rather conceivable that in particular the lead frame 19, the holder 20 and the coupling 12 may have other designs or that the number of pins 14 may vary.

Claims

1. Electrical plug connector (10) having a coupling piece (12) to which a plurality of pins (14) are assigned, wherein the pins (14) can be electrically connected in each case by means of conductors (15) to contact sections (16) of contact strips (17) which are arranged in a housing (11), wherein at least one lead frame (19) having at least one of the conductors (15) is fixedly arranged in a holder (20), characterized in that each pin (14) together with a conductor (15) and a contact section (16) is integrally formed from the at least one lead frame (19), wherein the lead frames (19) each have strain relief (21) in the region of the conductor (15).

2. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that the at least one lead frame (19) is fixedly embedded in the holder (20).

3. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the at least one lead frame (19) is injection-molded in the holder (20).

4. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 2, characterized in that the lead frame (19) is fitted in the holder (20) before being buried.

5. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 3, characterized in that the lead frame (19) is fitted in the holder (20) before injection molding.

6. Electrical plug connector (10) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that a plurality of lead frames (19), each having a plurality of pins (14), conductors (15) and contact sections (16) arranged side by side, are arranged one above the other in the semi-finished product so as to form a plurality of columns of pins (14), conductors (15) and contact sections (16).

7. Electrical plug connector (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that a holder (20) with the at least one lead frame (19) is connectable with the coupling piece (12) and/or the housing (11).

8. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the holder (20) with the at least one lead frame (19) can form a snap-lock connection with the coupling piece (12) and/or the housing (11).

9. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the holder (20) with the at least one lead frame (19) can be potted with the coupling piece (12) and/or the housing (11).

10. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 7, characterized in that the holder (20) with the at least one lead frame (19) can be injection-molded or glued with the coupling piece (12) and/or the housing (11).

11. Electrical plug connector (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the contact strip (17) is assigned to the lead frame (19) in a manner decoupled from the housing (11) and/or the coupling piece (12).

12. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 11, characterised in that a circuit board (18) is assigned to the contact strip (17).

13. Electrical plug connector (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the contact portions (16) or the lead frames (19) are at least partially embedded or stamped or pressed or soldered in the contact strips (17).

14. Electrical plug connector (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the contact portions (16) or the lead frame (19) are at least partially injection-moulded in the contact strips (17).

15. Electrical plug connector (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the strain relief (21) is serpentine-shaped.

16. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 15, characterised in that the strain relief (21) is punched out of the lead frame (19) in a serpentine manner.

17. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 15, characterized in that the serpentine-like strain relief (21) is oriented parallel to the stamping plane of the lead frame (19).

18. Electrical plug connector (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the lead frame (19) is bent over the transition from the pin (14) to the conductor (15) and from the conductor (15) to the contact portion (16).

19. Electrical plug connector (10) according to claim 18, characterised in that the lead frames (19) each have a deflection (22) which deviates from the stamping plane.