EP0078750A1 - Flat connector for a large number of contacts - Google Patents

Abstract

Each element of the connector comprises an insulating housing and at least one strip of contacts (13) held individually, and in a detachable manner, in the housing. The housing comprises at least two parts (11, 12) having cooperating support surfaces constituted by surfaces which are substantially parallel to the strip. One of the parts (11) comprises elements (15) for individual immobilisation of the contacts and the engagement of which, with the contacts, is carried out by displacement of the latter perpendicular to the surface. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to flat connectors with a large number of contacts and it finds a particularly important, although not exclusive, application in the field of aeronautical construction. It is known that each aircraft incorporates a very large number of transmission connectors, in particular of signals. Current practice aims to ensure standardization and, for this, consists in using, for all the connectors of the same aircraft, the same general model which must meet strict standards concerning the maintenance of electrical contact over time over periods of time. important and despite external stresses, maintaining electrical and fluid tightness, and, finally, the possibility of supporting without damage a large number of determined assembly and disassembly operations. This number of operations is that which corresponds to those of the connectors which are most often assembled and disassembled.

The industry has produced connectors that meet these specifications satisfactorily, but in return, have a high cost. However, if the imperatives of sealing and maintaining electrical contact are imposed on all the connectors, the possibility of supporting a large number of mounting and dismounting operations is only necessary for a fraction of the connectors. We know that some of them are only uncoupled, then mated, during infrequent interventions.

The invention aims to provide a connector usable in particular in aeronautics, adaptable to any type of cable and lends itself particularly well to flat cables and ribbon cables, responding better than those previously known to the requirements of practice, in particular that it is achievable with a very large number of contacts, makes it possible to maintain the quality of the electrical contact under the conditions encountered in aeronautics, ensures a good seal against external electrical actions and a satisfactory seal against fluids, while being cost-effective much lower than those of previous connectors fulfilling these functions.

To this end, the invention proposes in particular a connector element comprising an insulating casing made of several pieces and at least one layer of contacts retained individually and removably in the insulator, characterized in that the insulating housing comprises at least two parts having cooperating supports formed by surfaces substantially parallel to the ply and in that a first of the parts of the insulating housing comprises members for individual immobilization of the contacts whose engagement with the contacts is effected by displacement of the latter perpendicular to said surface.

The first part may include means for guiding the contacts placed at the front and also ensuring a seal. In this case, the contacts will be introduced by moving first forwards in a direction parallel to the bearing surface to thread their end portion into holes in the sealing means, then perpendicular to the surface to lock them. The flexibility of the contacts to be locked will facilitate this insertion sequence.

Thanks to the individual engagement and immobilization of the contacts, they can be stored on the first part before setting up a second part which immobilizes them in position. This second part has only a positive holding role in position, the first part already retaining enough contacts already in place so that they do not risk being dislodged during the insertion and storage of the following contacts. This is an important difference with, for example, the electrical plug described in document DE-A-429 867, the two contacts of which are immobilized once the plug has been assembled, between two identical insulating half-shells which hold them in place. .

Contacts can take many forms. However, it will generally be advantageous to use flat contacts (that is to say a male contact of the knife type on one of the elements of the connector, a female contact of the lyre type on the other).

In the first room will be housed for receiving the contacts. The latter will frequently include a barrel and, in this case, it will be desirable for the first part to have a flexible rear part intended to ensure sealing at the level of the cable or of its individual insulated conductors. This rear part may include foldable lips on the conductors; a another solution consists in providing, in the rear part, housings which contain a fraction of conductor greater than half and which is closed by the other room.

The first part will frequently be designed to receive two connector plies, one on each side. This first part will then cooperate with two second parts forming the sides of the housing.

The contacts must obviously be in a perfectly defined position while the rear wiring operation is carried out. In addition, sealing must be ensured. For this purpose, the first part can be formed by a front block, for example in thermoplastic or thermosetting material resistant under the conditions of use, or in fluorinated silicone elastomer, extended at the rear by a sealing block in elastomeric material with an appropriate sealing profile. The second part, or the second parts, forming sides, may be composite and comprise a rigid plate, for example metallic, coated internally by overmolding of an elastomer envelope.

• - on prévoit une première pièce isolante formant corps dans laquelle sont ménagés des logements ou alvéoles parallèles débouchant sur une face latérale du corps et. s'étendant sur toute la longueur de ce dernier,
• - on insère dans les logements des contacts par déplacement perpendiculaire à ladite face pour immobiliser les contacts dans le sens de la longueur par coopération de moyens portés par la première pièce et le contact,
• - et on ferme les logements àl'aide d'une seconde pièce isolante coopérant avec la première pièce de façon à bloquer les contacts coopérants d'un second élément de connecteur et d'entrée du câble relié aux contacts.

The invention also provides a method of mounting a connector element to at least one contact sheet, characterized in that:

• - There is provided a first insulating part forming a body in which are formed parallel housings or cells opening onto a lateral face of the body and. extending over the entire length of the latter,
• - contacts are inserted into the housings by displacement perpendicular to said face to immobilize the contacts lengthwise by cooperation of means carried by the first part and the contact,
• - And the housing is closed using a second insulating part cooperating with the first part so as to block the cooperating contacts of a second connector and input element of the cable connected to the contacts.

The connector element can be provided for engagement and disengagement by translation parallel to the plane of the tablecloth in a classic way. However, especially in the case of large width plies, it may be more advantageous, to reduce the insertion and release forces, to provide a rotational movement of the two connector elements relative to each other around of one of their edges. The insertion and the release are thus carried out gradually. The insulating parts of the connector can in certain cases be provided with a certain elasticity, to further promote this type of movement.

• - la figure 1 est une vue éclatée, en perspective, montrant la constitution de principe d'une élément de connecteur destiné à recevoir des filsindividuels munis de contacts lyres à sertir, un seul contact étant rerpésenté ;
• - la figure 1 A est une vue de détail à grande échelle montrant la constitution des organes d'immobilisation et d'étanchéité associés au contact de la figure 1 ;
• - les figures 2A et 28 sont des vues en coupe schématique montrant une constitution possible d'une coquille destinée à maintenir l'élément de connecteur de la figure 1 à l'état assemblé ;
• - la figure 3 est une vue en plan, à petite échelle montrant un connecteur plat selon le mode de réalisation de l'invention, à l'état accouplé ;
• - la figure 4 montre une des réalisations possibles de l'élément de connecteur à contacts mâles du connecteur de la figure 3, pour partie en coupe suivant le plan A-A de la figure 5, en coupe suivant le plan B-B contacts enlevés, et en vue d'extérieur depuis le plan C-C ;
• - la figure 5 est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne V-V de la figure 4 ;
• - la figure 6 est une vue en bout suivant la direction VI-VI de la figure 4 ;
• - la figure 7 est une vue en coupe suivant la ligne VII-VII de la figure 4 ;
• - les figures 8 et 9, respectivement similaires aux figures 4 et 5, montrent un mode de réalisation d'un élément de connecteur à contacts femelles utilisable dans le connecteur de la figure 3 ;
• - la figure 10 est une vue en coupe schématique montrant une constitution possible des moyens d'étanchéité sur les fils du connecteur de la figure 3 ;
• - les figures 11, similaires à la figure 10, montrent des variantes de réalisation des moyens d'étanchéité ;
• - la figure 12 montre une autre variante encore de réalisation des moyens d'étanchéité, cette fois destinés à un câble en nappe.

The invention will be better understood on reading the following description of various embodiments of the invention, given by way of non-limiting examples. The description refers to the accompanying drawings, in which:

• - Figure 1 is an exploded view, in perspective, showing the basic construction of a connector element intended to receive individual wires provided with lyre contacts to be crimped, a single contact being represented;
• - Figure 1 A is a detail view on a large scale showing the constitution of the immobilization and sealing members associated with the contact of Figure 1;
• - Figures 2A and 28 are schematic sectional views showing a possible constitution of a shell intended to maintain the connector element of Figure 1 in the assembled state;
• - Figure 3 is a plan view, on a small scale showing a flat connector according to the embodiment of the invention, in the coupled state;
• - Figure 4 shows one of the possible embodiments of the connector element with male contacts of the connector of Figure 3, partly in section along the plane AA of Figure 5, in section along the plane BB removed contacts, and in view outdoor from plan CC;
• - Figure 5 is a sectional view along line VV of Figure 4;
• - Figure 6 is an end view along the direction VI-VI of FIG. 4;
• - Figure 7 is a sectional view along line VII-VII of Figure 4;
• - Figures 8 and 9, respectively similar to Figures 4 and 5, show an embodiment of a connector element with female contacts usable in the connector of Figure 3;
• - Figure 10 is a schematic sectional view showing a possible constitution of the sealing means on the wires of the connector of Figure 3;
• - Figures 11, similar to Figure 10, show alternative embodiments of the sealing means;
• - Figure 12 shows yet another alternative embodiment of the sealing means, this time for a ribbon cable.

The connector element, the main components of which are shown in FIG. 1 and the shell is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, is intended to cooperate with a similar connector element, but comprising suitable male contacts. The two elements of the same connector can have a very similar constitution. The element 10 shown in FIG. 1 is intended to receive two contact plies and it consequently comprises a central part 11 and two lateral parts or sidewalls 12. The central part 11 comprises housings intended to receive the contacts such as 13, immobilizing them in the longitudinal direction and ensuring a seal on the individual wires 14, fixed to the contacts by crimping. In FIG. 1, the contacts shown are lyre contacts with a cylindrical crimping barrel, but this arrangement is not exclusive. Each moving head contact 13 is intended to cooperate with a knife contact 13a carried by the other connector element, not shown.

The part 11 will generally consist of two parts, the front part being intended to retain the contacts and the rear part to ensure the seal. Given this difference in function, we will generally use different constituent materials for the two parts. The front part must be rigid and will be made of plastic or hard elastomer, the rigidity of which can be ensured by overmolding a rigid plate of another material. The rear part, intended for sealing, fulfilling the role of the plug - commonly called "grommet" - common connectors, will generally be made of flexible elastomeric material.

In the case illustrated in Figure 1, the front part of the part 11 has parallel recesses whose cross section is, in the part intended to receive the contact 13, approximately rectangular, while the part intended to receive the barrel has a section approximately circular in shape, truncated over a fraction less than half.

The individual immobilization members are constituted, in the case shown in FIGS. 1 and 1a, by pins 15 intended to engage in holes of corresponding diameter 16 provided in the contacts 13. To ensure a precise positioning of the contacts , the wall of the recesses or cells can carry bosses constituting retaining pawls 17.

In the case where the connector element is intended to receive wires of clearly determined diameter, the rear part made of flexible elastomer can be produced in a simple manner. In the case shown in FIG. 1a, this rear part has passages of variable cross section to constitute sealing lips 18.

The side pieces 12 are intended to hold the contacts in place once they have been engaged on the pins 15. These side pieces can be made of hard plastic or stiffened by incorporating a rigid head, the rear of which has a receiving notch a sealing strip 19 cooperating with the rear part of the part 11 to enclose the wires 14 in a sealed manner.

The connector element must also include means which hold the lateral pieces or sides 12 applied against the central piece 11. These means can be constituted by a shell 20 of the kind shown in Figures 2A and 2B, in two components 21 and 22. These two components or shells can be made of plastic or metal. They will frequently be internally provided with stops 23 for contact with the sides 12 against which they can be tightened by removable means, for example screws 24 (FIG. 2B). Notches 25 made at the rear of the shells 21 and 22 allow the passage of the wires 14, which will frequently belong to the same cable.

In the case illustrated in FIG. 1, the knife contacts have their large dimension in the plane of the ply and the contacts are face to face in the two plies. This arrangement is obviously not exclusive and the contacts can in particular be oriented perpendicular to the plane of the sheets and / or arranged in staggered rows.

In the case of contacts of the kind shown in FIG. 1, the connector is assembled by sliding each conductor provided with a contact successively into the corresponding recess or cell. The engagement of each contact is carried out by moving it perpendicular to the support surface of the sides 12 against the central part 11, so as to engage the pin 15 in the hole 16. Once all the conductors of a sheet in place, the corresponding side 12 is laid. The other layer is then formed, the second side in place, and the assembly clamped in its hull.

The embodiment shown in detail in FIGS. 3 to 9 differs in particular from the previous one by the constitution of the immobilization members and the sequence of displacement of each contact during its positioning, sequence which ends in a perpendicular displacement. to the support surface of the sidewalls on the central part. In FIGS. 3 to 9, the members corresponding to those of FIGS. 1, 1A, 2A and 2B will be designated by the same reference number for simplicity.

The connector of Figure 3 still includes an element 10 with female contacts and an element 25 with male contacts.

The element 26 shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 comprises an insulating central part 11 still having a front part made of hard material (thermoset or thermoplastic material in general) and a rear sealing part made of flexible elastomer, intended to ensure sealing, on insulated conductors in the case of a round cable, on the cable itself in the case of a flat cable. The constitution of this rear part can vary widely, as will be seen below.

Part 11 is completed by a front sealing plate 27 made of elastomer, bonded to the front face of the part and pierced with holes for passage of the male contacts 13a (FIG. 6). The plate 27 already ensures a first maintenance of the contacts even before the flanks 12 are put in place, which facilitates assembly.

The individual immobilization members of the contacts 13a are this time constituted by lugs 28 integrally with the part 11. These lugs 28 have a dimension such that they can be housed in lateral notches 29 cut out in the contacts 13a and of corresponding shape.

The contacts 13a shown are of the barrel type to be crimped onto a conductor which leaves the element through the rear part thereof, intended to ensure sealing, but which must allow the conductor to be housed by displacement perpendicular to the surface , that is to say without having to put it on.

The lateral pieces or sides 12 of the connector element, generally made of thermoset or hard thermoplastic material, have a face intended to come to bear on the central piece and on the contacts so as to retain the latter. To ensure precise maintenance, the contacts 13a are advantageously given elasticity in the direction of support, for example by locally deforming them outwards to form a thinned zone of the corresponding flank 12.

The stack formed by the central part 11 and the sides 12 is kept assembled by two shells 21 and 22, which will generally be metallic and applied one against the other by any assembly means, constituted in the case illustrated on Figures 3, 4, 5 and 7, by a metal blade 31 placed in a groove of the shells and attached to the studs 32 of the shells. The front part of the shells must be provided to be able to fit and attach to the shells of the associated connector element. The fixing means can be any. In the case illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, they include screws 34 provided to engage in threaded holes in the shells of the other connectors.

Holes 35 may be provided in the shells to allow the passage of additional assembly means or that of guide rods for stacking several connectors. In this case, a single set of screws 34 is sufficient for all of the stacked connectors.

The element 10 with female contacts (FIGS. 8 and 9) has a constitution similar to that of the element 26 and also comprises a central part 11 and two sides 12. The central part 11 is still provided with immobilizing lugs 28 of the contacts 13. However, these lugs have a triangular shape in section in the plane of the contacts (FIG. 8) and the lateral notches 29 in which they fit are oriented at 90 ° de-notches of the contacts 13a so as to be made according to the width of the contacts.

The shells 33 of the element 10 are identical to those of the element 26, except that they have tapped holes 33 intended to receive the screws 34. Finally, the elements 10 and 26 are one and the other provided with conductor retaining means which may have any constitution and are represented in the form of a bar 34 provided with an internal elastomer lining and fixed by screws 35 on the rear part of one of the shells 22 , longer than the other.

The assembly of each element is carried out according to a process which follows directly from the constitution of the element: each contact 13 or 13a is crimped onto the corresponding conductor 14, each contact 13 or 13a of the same ply is then introduced into the corresponding hole in the plate 27 by sliding it forwards over the lug 28, the elasticity of the bending contacts and the triangular shape of the pins 28 of the element 10 facilitating this introduction. Once the contact is fully inserted, its rear part is moved transversely to the direction of primitive engagement to lock the contact on the corresponding lug and the corresponding conductor is placed in the sealing means. The contact is then in a precisely defined position by pressing its large faces on the central part 11 (Figures 5 and 8). The sidewall 22 corresponding to the ply is put in place to prevent the contacts from coming off the pins 28 and the same sequence is repeated for the other ply.

The rear part of the elements, intended to ensure sealing, will have a very variable constitution depending on the nature of the cable to be connected and the fact that the connector is or is not intended to receive conductors of any size within a determined range.

In the case where the cable comprises individual sheathed conductors of determined diameter, the sealing means, designated by 36 in FIGS. 5 and 9, may have, for each ply, the constitution shown in FIG. 10. These means include the part rear, in flexible elastomer, of the central part in which are formed passages of semi-circular section 37 intended to receive the wires. The wall of each passage is extended by two lips 38 which, at rest, release a conductor entry slot and which have a length such that their ends are joined once the lips closed on the conductor in place, of predetermined diameter. The side has, for its part, grooves 39 of profile chosen to keep the lips applied sealingly on the insulated conductor.

FIGS. 11A to 11C show various alternative embodiments intended for conductors of determined diameter. Figure 11A shows a fraction of the room central 11, containing two layers of conductors on which the lips 38 are closed. The variants shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11C differ essentially from the embodiment in FIG. 10 by profiles provided on the sides 12.

On the contrary, the variant shown in FIGS. 11D and 11E makes it possible to ensure sealing on any conductor whose diameter is included in a determined range. In the case of FIG. 11D, the part 11 has a single deformable lip 39, of great length to partially cover a flange 40 placed on the other side of the passage 37. In the case of FIG. 11E (where only a fraction of the part 11), it can be seen that the two lips 11 and 12, of unequal lengths, overlap over a distance which depends on the diameter of the conductor 14.

The sealing means will have a different constitution from those which have just been described when the cable to be connected is of the sheet type or of the flat type (printed on insulated flexible support). They can then in particular have the form shown diagrammatically in FIG. 12. The flat cable 43 is clamped between the beads, located face to face with two elastomer plates 44 and 45 respectively bonded to the central part 11 and each side 12.

The invention is susceptible of numerous variant embodiments and of numerous applications other than those which have been described. The connection between contacts and conductors can be of any type, including by self-stripping knives or pins in the case of flat or flat cables. Each connector element can have more than two layers in a single pair of shells. The shape of the immobilizing members can be adapted to engagement in a direction which is not perpendicular to the plane of the ply or plies. The connector elements can be provided with any coupling means, for example with bayonet. It should be understood that the scope of this patent extends to such variants as well, more generally, than to all others remaining within the framework of equivalences.

In particular, the term "contact" should be interpreted as covering in particular a fiber optic tip. In this case, each connector element will include centering means making it possible to align the cooperating ends of the two elements precisely one opposite the other (dihedrons for example). In addition, it can be noted that, the contacts being directly accessible while they are in place until they are covered by a flank, it is possible to make connections by traditional means on the contact sheet. before laying the sidewall.

Claims (7)

1. Connector element comprising an insulating housing made of several pieces and at least one contact ply detachably individually retained in the insulation, characterized in that the insulating housing comprises at least two pieces (11, 12) having cooperating supports constituted by surfaces substantially parallel to the ply and in that a first of the parts of the insulating housing comprises members (15) for individual immobilization of the contacts (13, 13a) whose engagement with the contacts is effected by displacement of the latter perpendicular to said surface. 2. Connector element according to claim 1, characterized in that the first part (11) comprises means (27) for guiding the contacts, placed at the front and also providing a seal, said contacts being provided to be introduced by first moving forwards in a direction parallel to the bearing surface to thread their end portion into holes in the sealing means, then perpendicular to the surface to lock them. 3. connector element according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the contacts are of the flat type, the two connector elements of the same connector advantageously comprising one of the knife type contacts (13a), the other lyre type contacts (13). 4. Connector element according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the individual immobilization members of the contacts comprise, in said first part, a pin (15) intended to engage in a hole provided in the contact for each contact. 5. Connector element according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the individual immobilization members of the contacts comprise, in said first part and for each contact, a lug (28) intended to engage in a notch side (29) of the contact. 6. Connector element according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first insulating part (11) comprises a rigid front part and a flexible rear part which presses against the cable to ensure sealing. 7. A method of mounting a connector element to at least one contact sheet, characterized in that: a first insulating part forming a body is provided in which are formed parallel housings or cells opening onto a lateral face of the body and s' extending over the entire length of the latter; contacts are inserted into the housings by displacement perpendicular to said face to immobilize the contacts lengthwise by cooperation of means carried by the first part and the contact; and the housings are closed using a second insulating part cooperating with the first part so as to block the cooperating contacts of a second connector and input element of the cable connected to the contacts.

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