CN110301071B

CN110301071B - Fixing element for a current connection, current connection and bus with a current connection

Info

Publication number: CN110301071B
Application number: CN201880012768.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 克劳斯·韦格斯德; 克里斯蒂安·克拉森伯格; 托马斯·莱斯纳
Original assignee: Lisa Draexlmaier GmbH
Current assignee: Lisa Draexlmaier GmbH
Priority date: 2017-02-24
Filing date: 2018-02-22
Publication date: 2021-03-12
Anticipated expiration: 2038-02-22
Also published as: WO2018153414A1; DE102017103843B4; DE102017103843A1; CN110301071A

Abstract

The invention relates to a fastening element (100) for a current connection (200), comprising a base section (110) from which two retaining legs (120,130) which, together with the base section (110), form a U-shaped or V-shaped contact element receptacle (140) extend, on which at least one first engagement tongue (150, 160) and at least one second engagement tongue (170, 180) are formed, wherein the free end of the first engagement tongue is directed toward the contact element receptacle (140) for bearing against a contact element (300) and the free end of the second engagement tongue is directed away from the contact element receptacle (140) for bearing against a carrier (400). The invention further relates to a current interface (200), a busbar (400) as a carrier for the current interface (200), and a fastening element (100).

Description

Fixing element for a current connection, current connection and bus with a current connection

Technical Field

The invention relates to a fastening element for a current connection, which is suitable in particular for fastening one or more electrical contact elements to a carrier. The invention further relates to a current interface for a motor vehicle, comprising such a fastening element. The invention also relates to a bus bar as a carrier having such a current interface.

Background

Electrical contact elements which can form a current connection and are suitable for mounting on a carrier in the form of a busbar, which may be designed, for example, as a stamped grid, are known, for example, from DE 10149574C 2. The contact element is embodied separately from the punching grid and is inserted therein. It has a fork-like plug contact receptacle which is formed by two contact springs which are formed integrally with the contact element base. In one embodiment, the contact element is inserted from one side through the through-opening of the punching grid and is stopped on this side with the contact element base on the planar side of the punching grid. On the other side of the stamped grid in the thickness direction, a plug contact receptacle is then arranged into which the plug contact can be inserted in the plug direction. The current interface provided with contact elements usually has at least two or more contact elements which are stacked with their flat sides against one another, so that, for example, the electrical conductivity of the current interface can be adjusted in that more or less contact elements are combined into a pack.

In order to achieve loss-proof protection for the contact elements inserted into the stamped grid, the contact elements are supported such that they are not pressed out of the through-openings when the insertion contact is inserted. The insertion of the insertion contacts is usually carried out in a plug-in direction parallel to the thickness direction of the stamped grid. The loss prevention protection is preferably implemented here in this way: the stamped grid is often arranged in a plastic housing, wherein parts of the housing bear against the respective contact element base or support it in the plugging direction. This has the disadvantage that the material used for the housing is complex and the complex design of the injection molding tool used to produce the housing.

Disclosure of Invention

The task of the invention is therefore: the use of a device which is as simple as possible in terms of construction provides a loss-proof protection and/or support for the contact element, which can be achieved without complex housing configurations.

This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims, in the description and in the drawings.

The fastening element according to the invention is suitable in particular for fastening a contact element of a current interface, which can be arranged, for example, in a distributor or the like of a motor vehicle, on a carrier, such as a busbar, which can be embodied as a stamped grid, or on a circuit board. The fastening element has a base section from which two retaining legs extend, which together with the base section form a U-shaped or V-shaped contact element receptacle. In this contact element receptacle, one or more fork-like contact elements of the type mentioned at the outset can be arranged and preferably also held together in such a way that the fixing element encloses them one by one, partially or in sections, and holds them in the U-shaped or V-shaped contact element receptacle. At least one first engagement tongue, engagement web or the like is formed on each of the retaining legs, the free ends of which are each directed toward the contact element receptacle for the purpose of bearing against the one or more contact elements. In this case, the free end of the engagement tongue can also project into the contact element receptacle. Thereby holding the one or more contact elements preferably between the inner surface of the base section and the free end of the first engagement tongue. Furthermore, at least one second engagement tongue, engagement lug or the like is formed on each of the retaining legs, the free ends of which are directed away from the contact element receptacles in order to be in contact with a carrier carrying the contact elements, such as a busbar or a stamped grid or a printed circuit board. If the contact element receptacles are considered as a U-shaped or V-shaped interior space of the fixing element, the first engagement tongues are directed towards or into the interior space and the second engagement tongues are directed away from the interior space. In the installed state of the fastening element, the first engagement tongue engages positively with the one or more contact elements, so that, when the second engagement tongue engages with the carrier, i.e., for example, with a busbar or a stamped grid or a circuit board, the contact elements are supported on the carrier by the fastening element.

With this arrangement the fixing element can realize: stable fitting (Sitz) of the one or more contact elements in the through-hole of the carrier without additionally providing a housing or other support possibilities for support. The fastening element itself can be produced as a stamped/bent part from sheet metal, which can be produced accordingly at low cost, and in particular does not necessarily have to have good electrical conductivity, since the current to be conducted is conducted primarily via the carrier and the contact element or contact elements. The fixing element can therefore be made of a relatively low-cost, for example elastic, metal material. It is also possible to assemble in a simple manner, for example, by first placing the fixing element on the contact element or contact elements and then placing the entire device on the carrier by means of the through-hole inserted therein. However, it is also conceivable to insert the contact element first into the through-opening and then subsequently insert the fastening element to the contact element, by inserting the fastening element onto the contact element mount and then threading the retaining leg through the through-opening.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention provides for: the first and second engagement tongues are spaced apart from one another in the longitudinal extension direction of the retaining leg. The spacing between the engagement tongues is ideally adapted to the material thickness of the carrier, so that different engagement tongues are arranged on different sides of the carrier in the installed state.

For the assembly of the fastening element, it has proven to be advantageous if the first engagement tongue is arranged between the base section and a second engagement tongue, wherein the second engagement tongue is arranged adjacent to the free end of the retaining leg. Thereby, the first engagement tongue can engage with the contact element seat of the contact element on one side of the carrier and the second engagement tongue can engage with the carrier on the other side.

In the case of a holding leg having two holding arms spaced apart from one another in the direction of their transverse extent, the fastening element can be placed in a stable manner at an angle on the one or more contact elements, wherein the first engagement tongue is bent over between the holding arms. By the central arrangement of the first engagement tongue with respect to the transverse extension direction, the holding leg can absorb tilting forces and similar loads.

According to the same principle, it is also possible to construct a second engagement tongue between the two retaining arms.

In order to also ensure good force transmission to the busbar or the stamped grid or the circuit board, the holding arm can taper in the direction of the free end of the holding leg to a central web, wherein the second engagement tongue is bent over thereby at the central web. Ideally, at least two second engagement tongues are formed at each retaining leg, whereby the fixing element is particularly stable at inclination. Relative movements between the contact element and the plug-in contact caused by tilting can thus be avoided.

In principle, it is conceivable for the engagement tongue to engage in the carrier in a planar manner. However, it has proven to be advantageous for the fittability of the fixing element that the free ends of the first and/or second engagement tongues extend away from the retaining leg at an acute angle. In this way, the engagement tongues, in particular the second engagement tongue pointing outwards, can be spring-elastically compressed for insertion or penetration into the through-opening of the carrier and can spring back again in the installed state.

In order to hold a plurality of contact elements in planar proximity to one another and also to ensure a previous fixing to the contact elements, the fixing element can be a fixing clip having holding legs which are clamped toward one another. Ideally, the fixing element may be made of a resilient metal material.

The invention also relates to a current interface for mounting on a carrier, for example a busbar or a stamped grid or a circuit board. The electrical connector has a variable number of, i.e., at least two contact elements, which are arranged in a planar manner next to one another and each have a fork-like plug contact receptacle, which is formed by two contact arms which point toward one another and are formed in one piece on a contact element base. According to the invention, the current connection has a fastening element with a base section from which two holding legs extend, which together with the base section form a U-shaped or V-shaped contact element receptacle, the two holding legs being used to receive the contact element. At least one first engagement tongue and at least one second engagement tongue are formed on each of the holding legs, wherein the free end of the first engagement tongue is directed toward the contact element receptacle for bearing against the contact element, and the free end of the second engagement tongue is directed away from the plug contact receptacle for bearing against the carrier.

The current interface advantageously implements: the contact element is held on the carrier by means of the fixing element, so that additional support by means of, for example, the housing of the distributor or the like can be dispensed with. Also in the case of inserting the plug contact into the contact element, the insertion force can be absorbed by the fixing element.

In the installed state, it is advantageously possible for an inner surface of the base section of the fastening element, which surface points toward the plug contact receptacle, to bear against an end face of the contact element base and for the respective retaining leg to extend parallel to the planar side of the contact element. The contact element is thus surrounded in a clip-like manner by the fastening element, so that a device consisting of the fastening element and the contact element held together therewith can be preassembled.

In the installed state, the respective first engagement tongue rests between the contact arms on one or more of the contact element bases on the inside. For this purpose, the respective free end projects into the contact element receptacle of the fastening element, so that the fastening element can be simply pushed onto the contact element and fastened there by means of the first engagement tongue.

The invention also relates to a busbar for a motor vehicle, which represents a carrier for a contact element. The bus bar has a through-hole in which the above-described current interface is accommodated. The device consisting of the busbar, the inserted contact element and the fixing element for fixing thereby does not require additional fixing by means of a housing or the like and withstands the insertion forces during the insertion of the insertion contact into the contact element.

In the installed state, the first engagement tongue of the fixing element may be arranged on the first side and the second engagement tongue of the fixing element may be arranged on the second side in a thickness direction of the busbar. The second engagement tongue then preferably rests with a free end on the flat side of the busbar.

Drawings

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the drawings. Wherein:

fig. 1 shows a fixing element according to the invention as a single component in a perspective view;

fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a galvanic interface according to the invention with a plurality of contact elements and a fastening element according to the invention;

fig. 3 shows a busbar according to the invention in a perspective view, in which a current interface according to the invention is accommodated; and

fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of a fastening element according to the invention as a single component in a perspective view.

These figures are merely schematic and serve only to illustrate the invention. Elements that are identical or that perform the same function are generally provided with the same reference numerals.

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a fastening element 100 for fastening a current connection, in particular an electrical contact element 300 (see fig. 2 and 3), to a carrier 400 (see fig. 3).

The fastening element 100 is formed in one piece from a sheet-metal material with elastic properties by stamping and bending and thus forms an elastic fastening clip. It has a base section 110 from which retaining legs 120,130 extend laterally, each approximately at right angles. However, it can be seen in fig. 1 that the angle at which the retaining legs 120,130 extend away from the base section 110 is slightly less than 90 ° so that the free ends of the retaining legs 120,130 approach each other. The holding legs 120,130 together with the base section 110 connecting them form a substantially U-shaped or more precisely V-shaped contact element receptacle 140 in which one or more contact elements 300 can be accommodated. In the case of a plurality of contact elements 300, the holding legs 120,130 can be spread apart, and in the case of fewer contact elements 300, the holding legs 120,130 are clamped toward one another.

Each of these retaining legs 120,130 has two retaining

arms

121, 131 spaced apart from one another in the transverse extension thereof. In order to form the retaining

arms

121, 131, the sheet metal of the fastening element 100 is left free in a partial section of the retaining

arms

121, 131, wherein the free extends up to a section of the base section 110. Between each of these retaining

arms

121, 131, a

first engagement tongue

150, 160 is arranged, the free ends of which project at an acute angle into the contact element receptacle 140. For this purpose, the respective

first engagement tongues

150, 160 are stamped out of sheet metal and are bent in the direction of the contact element receptacle 140. Viewed from the base section 110, the retaining

arms

121, 131 taper behind the respective

first engagement tongues

150, 160 in the direction of the free ends of the respective retaining legs 120,130 to the

center clip webs

122, 132.

Furthermore, a

second engagement tongue

170, 180 is formed on each of the retaining legs 120,130, the free ends of which are directed away from the contact element receptacle 140. Here too, an acute angle is enclosed between the respective retaining leg 120,130 and the free end of the respective

second engagement tongue

170, 180. As can be gathered from fig. 1, two

second engagement tongues

170, 180 are formed on the respective

central webs

122, 132, respectively, so that they are spaced apart from the respective

first engagement tongues

150, 160 in the longitudinal extension of the holding

legs

120, 130. Furthermore, the

second engagement tongues

170, 180 are arranged such that, in the transverse extension direction of the retaining legs 120,130, a respective

first engagement tongue

150, 160 is formed between the respective two

second engagement tongues

170, 180. By way of implication, it can also be seen in fig. 1 that the outer surface of the narrow side of the retaining legs 120,130 is flush with the outer surface of the narrow side of the

second engagement tongue

170, 180.

Fig. 2 shows the power interface 200 in the preassembled state, which is suitable for mounting on a carrier 400 (see fig. 3). In particular, it is used to form an electrical plug connection by inserting (not shown) plug contacts, for example, contact bases of a knife contact, fuse or relay, etc. Thus, current may be conducted between the carrier 400 and the interposer contact through the current interface.

The current connection 200 in this exemplary embodiment has a plurality of contact elements 300, which are made of electrically conductive sheet metal and are arranged or stacked with their flat sides flat against one another, i.e., close to one another. In this case, a pack of contact elements has, for example, exactly three individual contact elements 300, wherein the fastening element 100 is designed in view of the spacing of the retaining legs 120,130 from one another and/or in view of its spring force such that it can be used as a common part for different pack thicknesses, i.e. one, two, three, four or more contact elements 300. Each contact element 300 has two

contact arms

310, 320 aligned with one another, which are connected to one another at a contact element base 330 and, by their arrangement, form a fork-like plug contact receptacle 340 for inserting a plug contact.

As can be further seen from fig. 2, the fastening element 100, in the illustrated preassembled state, encloses the entire group of contact elements 300 and thus also holds them together. More precisely, the inner surface 115 of the base section 110 of the fastening element 100, which is oriented toward the contact element receptacle 140, rests against a corresponding end face of the contact element base 330 and the holding legs 120,130 of the fastening element 100 with their planar sides oriented toward, i.e., inward of, the contact element receptacle 140 rest against the respective outward planar side of the contact element 300 (outside in the pack) and thus extend parallel thereto. As is also apparent from fig. 2, the respective

first engagement tongues

150, 160 rest on the contact element base 330 between the

contact arms

310, 320 of the contact element 300 on the inside. The fastening element 100 thereby engages in a form-fitting manner with these contact elements 300 and has a fastening fitting thereon.

Fig. 3 shows an arrangement of a carrier 400, a plurality of contact elements 300 and a fixing element 100. The carrier 400 is a busbar, which is embodied, for example, as a stamped grid made of sheet metal material. The carrier 400 has a through-opening 410 into which the contact element 400 is inserted together with the fastening element 100 held thereon. It can be seen that in the illustrated installed state, in the thickness direction of the carrier 400, the

first engagement tongues

150, 160 of the fixing elements are arranged on a first side of the carrier and the

second engagement tongues

170, 180 are arranged on a second side of the carrier 400. The

second engagement tongues

170, 180 are located on the same side of the carrier 400 as the plug contact receptacles 340 of the contact element 300, into which plug contacts can be inserted in the insertion direction S. Counter to the insertion direction S, the contact element mount 330 forms a stop which stops on the first side of the carrier 400 on the planar side. In the insertion direction S, the

second engagement tongues

170, 180 form a stop which stops on the planar side on the second side of the carrier 400. Therefore, the current interface 200 is not only fixed in the insertion direction S, but also opposite to the insertion direction S.

Optionally, the through-holes 410 of the carrier 400 and the outer surface of the contact elements 300 (at least on the outside of the pack) are profiled, as can be seen in fig. 3. For the electrical contacting, a positive contour pointing into the through-hole 410 can therefore be formed on the carrier 400, between which a free space is left next to it in the central section in order to introduce the fastening element 100 into the through-hole 410. Adjacent to the positive contour, the through-opening 410 on the carrier can have a negative contour formed there in sections, which is supplemented by a complementary positive contour of the respective contact element 300, in order to create an additional contact surface for the carrier 400 here.

Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment of a fastening element 100 as a single component. The difference from the above-described embodiment is essentially that the retaining legs 120,130 do not taper towards their free ends, but rather continue substantially straight. Accordingly, instead of forming two

second engagement tongues

170, 180 in each case, only a single

second engagement tongue

170, 180 is formed for each retaining leg 120,130, similarly to the

first engagement tongues

150, 160. Which is between the retaining

arms

123, 133.

List of reference numerals

100 securing element (e.g., retaining clip)

110 base section

115 inner surface

120 holding leg

121 holding arm

122 center tab

123 holding arm

130 holding leg

131 holding arm

132 center tab

133 holding arm

140 contact element receiving portion

150 first engagement tongue

160 first engagement tongue

170 second engagement tongue

180 second engagement tongue

200 current interface

300 electric contact element

310 contact arm

320 contact arm

330 contact element base

340-fork-shaped plug contact receptacle

400 carrier (e.g., bus bar, stamped grid, circuit board)

410 through hole

Claims

1. A fastening element (100) for a current connection (200) has a base section (110) from which two retaining legs (120,130) which together with the base section (110) form a U-shaped or V-shaped contact element receptacle (140) extend, at least one first engagement tongue (150, 160) being formed on each of the retaining legs and at least one second engagement tongue (170, 180) being formed on each of the retaining legs, wherein a free end of the first engagement tongue points away from the contact element receptacle (140) for bearing against a contact element (300) and a free end of the second engagement tongue points away from the contact element receptacle (140) for bearing against a carrier (400), wherein the free ends of the retaining legs (120,130) approach one another.

2. The fixing element (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second engagement tongues (150, 160, 170, 180) are spaced apart from each other in the longitudinal extension direction of the retaining leg (120, 130).

3. The fixing element (100) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first engagement tongue (150, 160) is arranged between the base section (110) and the second engagement tongue (170, 180), wherein the second engagement tongue is arranged adjacent to a free end of the retaining leg (120, 130).

4. The fixing element (100) according to claim 1, characterised in that the retaining leg (120,130) has two retaining arms (121, 131) spaced apart from one another in their transverse extension, wherein the first engagement tongue (150, 160) is bent thereby between the retaining arms.

5. The fixing element (100) according to claim 4, characterized in that the retaining arms (120,130) taper in the direction of the free ends of the retaining legs (120,130) up to a central web (122, 132), wherein the second engagement tongue (170, 180) is bent over thereby at the central web.

6. The fixing element (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the free ends of the first engagement tongue (150, 160) and/or of the second engagement tongue (170, 180) extend away from the retaining leg (120,130) at an acute angle.

7. The fixing element (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the fixing element (100) is a fixing clip having retaining legs (120,130) which are clamped towards each other.

8. A current interface (200) for mounting on a carrier (400), having one or more contact elements (300) which are arranged in a planar manner next to one another and each have a fork-like plug contact receptacle (340) which is formed by two contact arms (310, 320) which are directed toward one another and are formed in one piece on a contact element base (330),

it is characterized in that

A fastening element (100) having a base section (110), from which two retaining legs (120,130) which together with the base section (110) form a U-shaped or V-shaped contact element receptacle (140) extend for receiving the contact element (300), at least one first engagement tongue (170, 180) and at least one second engagement tongue (170, 180) being formed on each of the retaining legs, wherein a free end of the first engagement tongue is directed toward the contact element receptacle (140) for resting on the contact element (300) and a free end of the second engagement tongue is directed away from the contact element receptacle (140) for resting on the carrier (400).

9. The galvanic interface according to claim 8, characterized in that an inner surface of the base section (110) of the fastening element (100) pointing toward the contact element receptacle (140) rests on an end face of the contact element base (330) in the installed state and the respective retaining leg (120,130) extends parallel to a planar side of the contact element (300).

10. Current interface according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the respective first engagement tongue (150, 160) rests on the contact element base (330) between the contact arms (310, 320) in the installed state.

11. Busbar (400) for a motor vehicle, having a through-hole (410) and a current interface (200) according to one of claims 8 to 10 accommodated in the through-hole.

12. The busbar (400) according to claim 11, wherein, in the thickness direction of the busbar (400), a first engagement tongue (150, 160) of a fixing element (100) is arranged on a first side and a second engagement tongue (170, 180) of the fixing element (100) is arranged on a second side, and the second engagement tongue (170, 180) abuts on a planar side of the busbar (400).