EP0307580A2 - Shorting bridge - Google Patents

Abstract

The object of the invention is a device for creating a short-circuit link between electrical contact elements (2) of an electrical plug connector (3), particularly a cable plug connector, in which the electrical contact elements (2) are arranged in a row in a plug housing (12) of the electrical plug connector (3). In order to create an easily handled short-circuit link between the electrical contact elements (2), an essentially U-shaped, electrically conductive link element is proposed which can be plugged with its two limbs (6) in each case onto the electrical contact elements (2) with the said limbs (6) and, after being plugged on, produce an electrical contact therewith. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a device for bridging a short circuit between electrical contact elements of an electrical plug connection, in particular a cable plug connection, in which the electrical contact elements are arranged in a row in a plug housing of the electrical plug connection.

Electrical plug connections, in particular electrical cable plug connections, are known. Electrical contact elements are arranged in a row in a plug housing. Such an electrical plug connection can be, for example, a spring housing in which contact springs designed as leaf spring contacts are arranged in a row, the corresponding conductor tracks being contacted with the respective contact springs in insulation displacement technology. Such an electrical plug connection in the form of a spring housing can, for example, be plugged onto the edge of a printed circuit board in order to be able to establish the electrical connection by means of the conductor tracks to the electronic components arranged on the printed circuit board. Instead of this, it is also possible to attach the spring housing to a special pin header.

In some applications, it is desirable to bridge two or more electrical contact elements with a short-circuit bridge in such an electrical connector. It may be necessary to either bridge directly adjacent electrical contact elements, or to bridge any electrical contact elements within the row, so that individual electrical contact elements are skipped. So far is one Short-circuit bridging between electrical contact elements of an electrical connector has been created in that a wire is inserted and the wire ends are connected to the electrical contact elements to be bridged. This is not only cumbersome in the implementation of the short-circuit bridging, but there are also protrusions due to cable loops extending over the connector outer area, which prevent a close packing density.

Proceeding from this, the object of the invention is to create an easy-to-handle short-circuit bridging between the electrical contact elements of an electrical plug connection arranged in a row.

As a technical solution , an essentially U-shaped electrically conductive bridging element is proposed, which can be plugged onto the electrical contact elements with its two legs and is in electrical contact with them after being plugged on.

A device designed according to this technical teaching for a short-circuit bridging between electrical contact elements of an electrical plug connection in the form of an attachable U-shaped bridging element has the advantage that the short-circuit bridging can be produced in a very quick and simple manner by the U-shaped bridging element on the to be bridged electrical contact elements. The connector can already be delivered with pre-assembled bridging elements. Instead, it is also easy and easy to retrofit electrical connectors that have already been installed. Finally, the U-shaped bridging element does not cause any protrusion, so that a tight packing density is possible.

In a first embodiment, the U-shaped bridging element has a rectangular, flat base, on the two opposite, lateral edges of which rectangular flat legs are also formed.

In a second embodiment, the U-shaped bridge element has an L-shaped, flat base, on the two opposite, lateral edges of which rectangular, flat legs are also formed, with the shortened edge of the base of the legs compared to the other leg is correspondingly shortened in width.

In a third embodiment, finally, the U-shaped bridging element has an essentially Z-shaped, flat base, on the two opposite, shortened, lateral edges of which are also rectangular, flat legs.

These three embodiments of the U-shaped bridging element can be used for the most varied shapes and uses of the electrical contact elements in an electrical plug connection. In particular, the L-shape and the Z-shape of the bridging elements enable the conductors to be easily contacted to the electrical contact elements, in particular in insulation displacement technology.

In a further development, vertically projecting wings are formed on the flat legs of the U-shaped bridging element in the region of their free ends, which improve the stability of the bridging elements in the plugged-on state. In particular, the wings prevent that the U-shaped bridging elements can move in the direction of the tunnel.

In a preferred application form of the U-shaped bridging elements, the use for electrical contact elements, in particular for electrical contact elements in insulation displacement technology, is proposed, in which two mutually opposite pairs of tines each form an insertion slot for contacting conductors, with these insertion slots of the respective electrical contact element, the U-shaped bridging element can be inserted with its one leg, and where appropriate the wings rest against the prongs on the outside. In the case of such leaf spring contacts in particular, the U-shaped bridging element has proven to be advantageous for short-circuit bridging. The leaf spring contact has two pairs of flat tines, which are aligned parallel to each other at a distance and form an insertion slot between them, into which the conductor to be contacted on the leaf spring contact is inserted in such a way that the conductor on the one hand cuts through the insulating sleeve and thus the electrical contact is made between the conductor and the leaf spring contact and that, on the other hand, the conductor is clamped between the prongs in the insertion slot. This insertion slot, which is thus intended for contacting the conductor, is used according to the invention at the same time for receiving the legs of the U-shaped bridging element, so as to produce a short-circuit bridging between two leaf spring contacts. In particular in the case of such leaf spring contacts, the bridging element with the L-shaped base and with the Z-shaped base prove to be advantageous, since the recessed areas of the base leave space for contacting corresponding conductors because of the cutout or recesses, the insertion slots are not occupied by the legs of the U-shaped bridging element.

Preferably, the U-shaped bridging element is correspondingly bent from a stamped sheet-metal part, so that the bridging element can be produced in a technically simple manner without requiring a great deal of effort.

Furthermore, the invention proposes that a plurality of U-shaped bridging elements are strung together to short-circuit bridging a plurality of electrical contact elements and form a comb-shaped bridging element overall. In this way, a short-circuit bridging between more than two electrical contact elements of an electrical connector can be created.

In a fourth embodiment, which differs in its basic concept from the first three embodiments, it is proposed that the U-shaped bridging element is bent from a sheet metal strip, the sheet metal strip first being bent by 90 ° to form the legs and a first partial leg being formed The sheet metal strip is then bent back by 180 ° in the opposite direction and a corresponding second partial leg is applied to the first part of the leg, and the sheet metal strip is finally bent by 90 ° again in the original direction in alignment with it to form a base, after which the second leg is bent in a corresponding manner.

This fourth embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element can be easily made from a narrow one Bend sheet metal strips using a simple bending process and with a certain grid (width of the base). In particular, there is no waste due to the use of a sheet metal strip. The U-shaped bridging element which is bent into shape in this way can be used in a simple manner without the plug system being changed. The connector can be delivered pre-assembled and can be easily retrofitted with the bridging elements.

In a preferred application form of the U-shaped bridging elements bent from a sheet metal strip, the use for electrical contact elements, in particular for electrical contact elements in insulation displacement technology, is proposed, in which two opposing pairs of tines each form an insertion slot for contacting conductors, the U-shaped bridging element can be inserted with its legs into the insertion slots of adjacent electrical contact elements such that the base rests against the prongs on the outside and the legs extend perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the insertion slots into the interior of the electrical contact elements and with their tips in appropriate length the opposite insertion slots come to rest. In practical use, the bridging elements are thus placed horizontally from above onto the electrical contact elements in such a way that the fork-shaped tine pairs receive the bridging element in the transition region between the base and the legs. The flat base of the U-shaped bridging element comes into contact with the likewise flat pairs of tines, so that only a slight protrusion arises, which, however, is insignificant in the case of such electrical contact elements in insulation displacement technology. The most common form of application will be the one in which the length of the Leg is only so short that its tips do not come to rest in the opposite insertion slots of the opposite pair of tines, but end freely in the interior of the electrical contact elements. In this way, conductors can be clamped to the free insertion slots without being affected by the short-circuit bridging.

Furthermore, the invention proposes that a corresponding number of legs are bent in a row from the sheet metal strip to short-circuit bridging a plurality of electrical contact elements and overall form a comb-shaped bridging element. In this way, a short-circuit bridging band is created which is suitable in a very simple manner for bridging any number of poles in the electrical plug connection.

Such a comb-shaped bridging element can not only serve for short-circuit bridging of several electrical contact elements of any number of poles, but can also serve as so-called yard goods, from which shorter comb-shaped bridging elements or even U-shaped bridging elements can be separated as required. In order to facilitate this separation process, it is finally proposed according to a further feature of the invention that predetermined breaking points are provided in each case between the legs of the comb-shaped bridging element in the bases.

• Fig. 1 eine erste Ausführungsform eines U-förmigen Überbrückungselements mit einer rechteckigen Basis;
• Fig. 2 eine zweite Ausführungsform eines U-förmigen Überbrückungselements mit einer L-förmigen Basis;
• Fig. 3 eine dritte Ausführungsform eines U-förmigen Überbrückungselements mit einer Z-förmigen Basis;
• Fig. 4 das Überbrückungselement aus Fig. 2 vor dem Aufstecken auf zwei einander benachbarte elektrische Kontaktelement;
• Fig. 5 die Situation aus Fig. 4 nach dem er­folgten Aufstecken;
• Fig. 6 eine Darstellung entsprechend Fig. 5, wobei jedoch die beiden elektrischen Kontaktelemente sowie das Überbrückungs­element innerhalb eines Steckgehäuses der elektrischen Steckverbindung ange­ordnet sind;
• Fig. 7 das Überbrückungselement aus Fig. 3 nach dem Aufstecken auf zwei benachbarte elektrische Kontaktelemente einer elek­trischen Steckverbindung, wobei eines der elektrischen Kontaktelemente zusätz­lich noch mit einem Leiter kontaktiert ist;
• Fig. 8 eine vierte Ausführungsform eines aus einem Blechstreifen gebogenen U-förmi­gen Überbrückungselements vor dem Auf­stecken auf zwei einander benachbarte elektrische Kontaktelemente;
• Fig. 9 die Situation aus Fig. 8 nach dem er­folgten Aufstecken;
• Fig. 10 eine Darstellung entsprechend Fig. 9, jedoch mit einem U-förmigen Über­brückungselement, dessen Schenkel ver­kürzt sind;
• Fig. 11 eine gegenüber der in Fig. 10 darge­stellten Ausführungsform eines U-förmigen Überbrückungselementes etwas modifizierte Ausführungsform mit einer verlängerter Basis zum Über­brücken nicht benachbarter elektrischer Kontaktelemente.

Further details and advantages emerge from the following description of the associated drawings, in which various embodiments of short-circuit bridging between electrical contact elements of an electrical plug connection are each shown in perspective. In the drawings:

• 1 shows a first embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element with a rectangular base;
• 2 shows a second embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element with an L-shaped base;
• 3 shows a third embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element with a Z-shaped base;
• FIG. 4 shows the bridging element from FIG. 2 before being plugged onto two adjacent electrical contact elements;
• 5 shows the situation from FIG. 4 after the attachment has taken place;
• 6 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 5, but with the two electrical contact elements and the bridging element being arranged within a plug housing of the electrical plug connection;
• FIG. 7 shows the bridging element from FIG. 3 after being plugged onto two adjacent electrical contact elements of an electrical plug connection, one of the electrical contact elements additionally being contacted with a conductor;
• 8 shows a fourth embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element bent from a sheet metal strip before being plugged onto two adjacent electrical contact elements;
• 9 shows the situation from FIG. 8 after the attachment has taken place;
• 10 shows a representation corresponding to FIG. 9, but with a U-shaped bridging element, the legs of which are shortened;
• FIG. 11 shows an embodiment somewhat modified compared to the embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element shown in FIG. 10 with an extended base for bridging non-adjacent electrical contact elements.

1 to 3 different embodiments of U-shaped bridging elements 1 are shown, which should form a short-circuit bridging by plugging in adjacent electrical contact elements 2 of electrical plug connections 3, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7.

The first embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element 1 shown in FIG. 1 consists of a rectangular, flat base 4. At opposite edges 5 of this base 4 there is a vertically protruding one Leg 6 formed so that the base 4 together with these legs 6 form the U-shape of the bridging element 1. At the free ends of these legs 6, wings 7 projecting vertically outward are formed, in total four pieces. The bridging element 1, which consists of a base 4, two legs 6 and four wings 7, is punched out of a sheet metal part and bent accordingly.

The second embodiment of the U-shaped bridging element 1 shown in FIG. 2 differs from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in that the base 4 is L-shaped and forms an angle or has a recess. As a result, the rear leg 6 of the bridging element 1 in the drawing is shortened in width. Accordingly, a wing 7 is also formed only on this rear leg 6, so that this bridging element 1 has a total of three wings 7.

Finally, the third embodiment of a bridging element 1 shown in FIG. 3 has a substantially Z-shaped base 4, the sections of which are perpendicular to one another. In this form of the base 4, the widths of the legs 6 are shortened accordingly. In addition, only one wing 7 is formed on each of the legs 6, specifically on the outside, so that this bridging element 1 has only two wings 7 in total.

4 shows an electrical plug connection 3 consisting of a series of electrical contact elements 2, but only two of the electrical contact elements 2 of this series are shown. These electrical contact elements 2 each have a pair of leaf springs 8, the leaf springs 8 of which abut one another in their front ends. To the A pair of tines 9 is arranged in each case at the upper ends of these leaf springs 8, the tines 9 of each pair of tines each forming an insertion slot 10 for contacting a conductor 11, as illustrated and recognizable in connection with another embodiment of the bridging element 1 in FIG. 7 is. The electrical contact elements 2 are also punched out of a sheet metal part and shaped accordingly.

FIG. 4 shows the situation before a bridging element 1 is plugged on, specifically in an embodiment as shown in FIG. 2. The U-shaped bridging element 1 is inserted in the direction of arrow P so that the two legs 6 of the bridging element 1 come to lie in the insertion slots 10 of the two electrical contact elements 2, as can be seen in the end position according to FIG. 5. In this end position, the wings 7 rest on the outside of the prongs 9 and thus prevent the bridging element 1 from slipping in the tunnel direction. In this embodiment of the bridging element 1 with an L-shaped base 4, the rearmost insertion slot 10 (of the rear electrical contact element 2) remains free in the drawing.

6, a plug housing 12 of the electrical plug connection 3 is indicated by dash-dotted lines, in which the two electrical contact elements 2 are arranged and by short-circuit bridging by means of the U-shaped bridging element 1.

Finally, FIG. 7 shows the same electrical contact elements 2 as in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 6. However, they are short-circuited with a bridging element 1, as shown in FIG. 3 is, that is, the bridging element 1 has a Z-shaped base 4. Except for this deviation, the bridging element 1 is plugged onto the adjacent electrical contact elements 2 in the same way as already in the embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 6 Case was. The only difference is that the Z-shape of the base 3 of the bridging element 1 leaves the foremost insertion slot 10 (of the front electrical contact element 2) free, so that it forms an insulation displacement connection for a conductor 11, as shown in FIG. 7 can be seen.

A fourth embodiment of a U-shaped bridging element 1, which differs in its basic concept from the first three embodiments, is finally shown in FIGS. 8 to 10.

8 that the U-shaped bridging element 1 is bent out of a narrow sheet metal strip, the sheet metal strip first being bent 90 ° from the original direction to form the legs 6, so that a first partial leg 6 'arises. According to the length of the leg 6, the sheet metal strip is bent back by 180 ° in such a way that the second partial leg 6 'thus formed abuts the first partial leg 6'. Finally, the sheet metal strip is bent again in the original direction, after which the same bending process for forming the second leg 6 is repeated. Only two legs 6 can be seen in the illustration in FIG. 8. However, further legs are bent on the left and right of the sheet metal strip, but are omitted for the sake of simplicity. In particular it is due to the comb-like anein other arrangement of the legs 6 possible to create a short-circuit bridging band which is suitable for bridging any number of poles.

The situation after stretching onto two adjacent electrical contact elements is shown in FIG. 9. It can be seen that the flat legs 6 in the insertion slots 10 come to lie vertically in the illustration shown, with the base 4 lying flat against the prongs 9 on the outside. The front ends of the legs 6 come to lie in the opposite insertion slots 10.

10 shows a somewhat modified embodiment of the bridging element 1 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The difference is that in the embodiment shown in Fig. 10, the legs 6 are somewhat shorter, so that they end in front of the rear prongs 9 and are not received by the rear insertion slots 10. In this way it is possible to clamp conductors 11 in these free insertion slots 10.

Finally, FIG. 11 shows a bridging element 1 which has been somewhat modified compared to the embodiment shown in FIG. 10. The difference is that in this embodiment of the bridging element 1, the base 4 is extended, so that electrical contact elements 2 which are not adjacent can be electrically bridged therewith.

For this purpose, FIG. 11 shows four electrical contact elements 2 with the positions A, B, C and D, the bridging element 1 being the foremost electrical contact element 2 at position A should electrically connect to the rearmost electrical contact element 2 at position D. For this purpose, the two legs 6 of the bridging element 1 are inserted from above into the corresponding insertion slots 10 of these two electrical contact elements 2 to be connected to one another, and in this way the electrical contact is established. The base 4 of the bridging element 1 is at a distance from the left 9 of the electrical contact elements 2 at the two middle positions B and C, so that only the two outer electrical contact elements 2 are connected to one another at the positions A and D. As in the embodiment in Fig. 10, only the front ends of the legs 6 of the bridging element 1 come to lie in the insertion slots 10 of the corresponding electrical contact elements 2, so that the electrical contact elements 2 struck at all positions A, B, C and D with conductor cables can be. This leaves all possibilities of contacting with any number of poles open. Thus, in the exemplary embodiment shown, the two outer electrical contact elements 2 are bridged, while the two middle electrical contact elements are free for other contacts in the insulation displacement method.

Reference symbol list

• 1 bridging element
• 2 electrical contact element
• 3 electrical connectors
• 4 base
• 5 edge
• 6 legs
• 6 'partial leg
• 6˝ partial leg
• 7 wings
• 8 leaf spring
• 9 tines
• 10 insertion slot
• 11 conductors
• 12 plug housing
• P arrow
• A position
• B position
• C position
• D position

Claims (12)

1. A device for bridging a short circuit between electrical contact elements (2) of an electrical plug connection (3), in particular a cable plug connection, in which the electrical contact elements (2) are arranged in a row in a plug housing (12) of the electrical plug connection (3),
marked by
an essentially U-shaped electrically conductive bridging element (1), which can be extended with its two legs (6) onto the electrical contact elements (2) and is in electrical contact with them after being stretched. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the U-shaped bridging element (1) has a rectangular, flat base (4), on the two opposite, lateral edges (5) each also rectangular, flat legs (6) formed are. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the U-shaped bridging element (1) has an L-shaped, flat base (4), on the two of which each other opposite, lateral edges (5) are also each rectangular, flat legs (6) formed, the shortened edge (5) of the base (4) of the legs (6) compared to the other leg (6) correspondingly shortened in width is. 4. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the U-shaped bridging element (1) has a substantially Z-shaped, flat base (4), on the two opposite, shortened lateral edges (5) each also rectangular, flat Legs (6) are formed. 5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that on the flat legs (6) of the U-shaped bridging element (1) in the region of their free ends projecting wings (7) are integrally formed. 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by the use of the U-shaped bridging elements (1) for electrical contact elements (2), in particular for electrical contact elements (2) in insulation displacement technology, in which two mutually opposite pairs of tines ( 9) form an insertion slot (10) between them for contacting conductors (11), the U-shaped bridging element (1) with one leg (6) being insertable into these insertion slots (10) of the respective electrical contact element (2) and where appropriate the wings (7) rest on the outside of the tines (9). 7. Device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the U-shaped bridging element (1) is bent accordingly from a stamped sheet metal part. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that for short-circuit bridging a plurality of electrical contact elements (2) a plurality of U-shaped bridging element (1) are strung together and form a comb-shaped bridging element overall. 9. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the U-shaped bridging element (1) is bent from a sheet metal strip, the sheet metal strip first being bent by 90 ° to form the legs (6) and a first partial leg (6 ') being formed , whereupon the sheet metal strip is bent back by 180 ° in the opposite direction and a corresponding second partial leg (6˝) which is in contact with the first partial leg (6 ') is formed, and finally the sheet metal strip is aligned by 90 ° again in the original direction with it Forming a base (4) is bent, after which the second leg (6) is bent in a corresponding manner. 10. The device according to claim 9, characterized by the use of the U-shaped bridging element (1) for electrical contact elements (2), in particular for electrical contact elements (2) in insulation displacement technology, in which two opposing pairs of tines (9) between them Each form an insertion slot (10) for contacting conductors (11), the U-shaped bridging element (1) with its legs (6) being insertable into the insertion slots (10) of adjacent electrical contact elements (2) such that the base (4) on the outside of the prongs (9) and the legs (6) extend perpendicular to the longitudinal extension of the insertion slots (10) inside the electrical contact elements (2) and at ent speaking length with their tips come to lie in the opposite insertion slots (10). 11. The device according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that for short-circuit bridging a plurality of electrical contact elements (2) a corresponding number of legs (6) are bent together from the sheet metal strip and form a comb-shaped bridging element. 12. The apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that predetermined breaking points are provided between the legs (6) of the comb-shaped bridging element in the bases (4).

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