EP0343550B1 - Electrical flat plug socket - Google Patents

Description

The invention is directed to an electrical flat socket provided for a flat plug connection of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1.

There are flat connectors according to the preamble (DE-C- 35 02 633), in which the socket member is designed as a full rectangular tube, but this has no cage structure, but on the broad sides molded, mutually curved spring pair arms, on which a pair of reinforcement springs presses is formed in a corresponding manner on a reinforcing sleeve to be pushed over the socket member.

EP-A-0089747 shows a square socket which shows some partial features of the invention, but not a flat socket or a protective sleeve.

From a brochure by Grote + Hartmann GmbH + Co.KG "Push-on sleeves and flat plugs TK 1" from August 1983, a flat plug-in socket in the form of a rectangular tube cage with longitudinal parallel bars on the broad and narrow sides is known. The contact points are all at the same axial height.

From DE-A-26 34 406 a circular socket with contact fingers is known, in which the contact points of adjacent contact fingers are axially offset from one another.

The invention has for its object to develop a space-saving flat connector due to the knife contact member of the type mentioned in the preamble of claim 1, which has good contact on the one hand and on the other hand manages with low insertion forces during the coupling process.

The invention solves this problem with the aid of the features of patent claim 1.

The invention has made it possible to reconcile the two apparently contradicting demands for good contact and low insertion forces and is characterized by the following special features.

Because the socket member is equipped as a rectangular tube with webs created by longitudinal slots on all tube sides, contact webs also come to rest on the rectangular narrow sides, which come into contact with the knife edges of the male part in the event of a coupling. The socket member is thus designed on all sides as a cage, the cage webs of which have single or multiple kinks or arches and thus run in a V or W shape. The kink or arch apex produced in this way springs on all sides against the clutch contact element coupled into the interior of the cage and is effective in contact. This gives contact points distributed over the entire profile circumference, which summatively produce a large contact area. Each kinked or bent contact web is under its own spring load due to its V- or W-shape, which is sufficient for good contacting by the web, but because of the very slim long web shape for its deformation requires surprisingly low attachment forces during the coupling process. During the coupling process, the course of the kink or curve levels out in the contact web and contacts with its apex. Coupling is thus easy and you get a good electrical transition even for higher electrical currents. A single kink in each contact web, which establishes a V-shaped web course, is particularly advantageous.

Since the vertices of the contact webs are offset longitudinally with respect to one another in accordance with the invention, this not only results in more favorable contacting, but also a further reduction in the attachment forces. Because of the longitudinal staggering of their kinks or bends, the contact webs are not all deformed at the same time during the coupling process, but rather with a time offset, which is why not all the deformation forces of the contact webs must be applied immediately. In terms of manufacturing technology, it is advantageous to design the V or arch shape of the contact webs asymmetrically. It is already sufficient, which also simplifies production and the tool, to form such asymmetrically bent contact webs from two mutually identical groups, which are provided alternately in the rectangular tube cage of the invention. The contact webs on the narrow sides of the cage are designed symmetrically because they are then deformed in time between the aforementioned asymmetrical kinks or bends of the other contact webs when coupling. The simplest version of the flat receptacle can be made in one piece, but with a protective sleeve.

For reasons of strength and better production, it is recommended, however, to form the socket member only from this rectangular tube cage and to use this as an insert in a box-shaped quiver, which, as a further component of the flat receptacle, forms a base member on which the The conductors are connected. As an alternative or in addition, as is recommended in claim 3, the protective sleeve can finally be encased in the sleeve which is used to hold an insulation housing with retaining tongues. With this two-part or three-part construction in the sheet material of the flat plug socket, to which the insulation housing is then added. it is possible to form each of these components from the specifically cheapest material, as recommended in claim 4. This sheet metal material is, according to claim 5, angled and folded until it creates the cage, quiver or protective sleeve designed as a rectangular tube with a longitudinal joint. These longitudinal joints will be placed, mainly between the quiver and the protective sleeve, on mutually different sides of the rectangular tube, the narrow side being particularly suitable for the protective sleeve, according to claim 6, because the holding hooks for the insulation housing can be positioned more favorably on the broad side .

The above-mentioned components should be fixed to one another by closing elements, such as interlocking elevations and depressions or stop shoulders, whereby their correct mounting position is defined in accordance with claim 7. To determine the mounting position but also, as recommended in claim 9, welds can be used, preferably by the action of a laser be generated. The location of these welds is recommended, according to claim 10, the longitudinal joint, because there is no annoying projection. Such welds can finally, according to claim 11, create a closed ring profile in the rectangular tube, which improves its shape, which is particularly interesting for the protective sleeve. An insertion funnel provided at the front end of the rectangular tube cage can also serve to mutually secure the assembly position, said insertion funnel being effective with the quiver of the base member. The strength could finally, according to claim 12, also be increased without welding if the longitudinal joint of the sheet material folded into a rectangular tube was allowed to jump like a labyrinth between two adjacent sides of the rectangle, thus creating alternately interdigitated fingers in the tube wall that extend over the edge of the rectangle.

Fig. 1

in starker perspektivischer Vergrößerung und teilweise im Ausbruch eine erste Ausführung der zur erfindungsgemäßen Flachsteckbuchse gehörenden Blechformteil vor ihrem Anschluß am zugehörigen Leiter,

Fig. 2

in Explosionsdarstellung die Bestandteile der in Fig. 1 gezeigten Flachsteckbuchse, zu denen noch ein nicht näher dargestelltes Isolationsgehäuse kommt,

Fig. 3

eine alternative Ausbildung der Flachsteckbuchse

Fig. 4

die Draufsicht, teilweise im Ausbruch,auf den innersten Bestandteil der Flachsteckbuchse von Fig. 2 in abgewandeter, schmalerer Bauart,

Fig. 5 und 6

einen Längsschnitt durch den Bestandteil von Fig. 4 längs der dortigen Schnittlinien V-V bzw. VI-VI,

Fig. 7

die vordere Stirnansicht auf den Bestandteil von Fig. 4,

Fig. 8

eine Abwicklung des Bestandteils von Fig. 4 in die Ebene, die den Blechzuschnitt des Formteils von Fig. 4 wiedergibt,

Fig. 9,

teilweise im Ausbruch, die Draufsicht auf den darüber gesetzten weiteren Bestandteil der Flachsteckbuchse von Fig. 2, in schmalerer Bauart,

Fig. 10

eine Querschnittansicht längs der Schnittlinie X-X von Fig. 9,

Fig. 11

einen Längsschnitt längs der Schnittlinie XI-XI von Fig. 9,

Fig. 12

die entsprechende Abwicklung des Bestandteils von Fig. 9,

Fig. 13, 14

die Drauf- bzw. Seitenansicht des äußeren Bestandteils von Fig. 2, teilweise ausgebrochen, in abgewandeter, zu Fig. 4 passender, schmalerer Bauart,

Fig. 15

die vordere Stirnansicht des Bestandteils von Fig. 13 bzw. 14,

Fig. 16

die Abwicklung dieses äußeren Bestandteils von Fig. 13 bzw. 14 und

Fig. 17

in Vergrößerung und perspektivischer Ansicht ein zu Fig. 2 passendes Messerkontaktglied des zugehörigen Flachsteckers.

The invention is shown in several exemplary embodiments in the drawings. The invention is directed to all new measures, even if these are not expressly stated in the claims. Show it:

Fig. 1

in a large perspective enlargement and partly in the cutout, a first version of the sheet metal part belonging to the flat plug socket according to the invention before its connection to the associated conductor,

Fig. 2

in an exploded view the components of the flat receptacle shown in Fig. 1, to which there is also an insulation housing, not shown,

Fig. 3

an alternative design of the flat receptacle

Fig. 4

the top view, partially in the cutout, of the innermost part of the flat receptacle of Fig. 2 in a modified, narrower design,

5 and 6

4 along the section lines VV and VI-VI,

Fig. 7

the front end view of the component of Fig. 4,

Fig. 8

4 in the plane that shows the sheet metal blank of the molded part of FIG. 4,

Fig. 9,

partly in the outbreak, the top view of the further component of the flat plug connector of FIG. 2 placed above it, in a narrower design,

Fig. 10

3 shows a cross-sectional view along the section line XX from FIG. 9,

Fig. 11

3 shows a longitudinal section along the section line XI-XI from FIG. 9,

Fig. 12

the corresponding handling of the component of Fig. 9,

13, 14

2, partially broken away, in a modified, to Fig. 4, narrower design,

Fig. 15

the front end view of the component of Fig. 13 and 14,

Fig. 16

the processing of this outer component of Fig. 13 and 14 and

Fig. 17

in an enlargement and perspective view a knife contact member of FIG. 2 of the associated tab connector.

In the drawings, only the metallically conductive core of a flat plug socket 10 of a flat plug connection is shown, to which an insulation housing (not shown in more detail) still belongs. Of the complementary flat plug 20 of this flat plug connection, only the contact member to be connected to the associated conductor is shown in FIG. 17 without the insulation housing there. The contact member comprises an extremely flat knife blade 21 with a full rectangular cross-section, which is why this member will be referred to as "knife contact member 20" for short. In addition to the knife blade 21, it also comprises a one-piece, conventional connection area 22 for the conductor (not shown in more detail), which in the present case includes conductor wire claws 23 and conductor insulation claws 24. The knife blade 21 is characterized by upper and lower blade surfaces 25, which are connected on both sides by extremely flat surface zones, which will be referred to as "knife edge 26" for short. The tip 27 of the knife blade 21 is sharpened for a good introduction. The entire knife contact member is designed as a shaped sheet metal body, the knife blade 21 of which is produced by folding the sheet metal into a compressed double position.

The conductive member 10 of the flat receptacle shown in its assembled state in FIG. 1 comprises three components, the appearance of which results from the diagram of FIG. 2, the structure of which is detailed in FIGS. 4 to 8 of the first component, 9 to 12 of the second component and 13 to 16 of the third component are shown.

The innermost component of this flat receptacle 10 consists of a socket designed as a rectangular tube 11 for receiving the aforementioned knife blade 21 of the flat plug 20. As can be seen from FIG. 7, the sheet material 12 is cut through in a flat blank resulting from FIG. 8 with punched-out longitudinal slots 13 7, which has two broad sides 14 on the long rectangular webs and its two narrow sides 15 on the short rectangular webs. The longitudinal slots 13 extend over a substantial length of the rectangular tube and between them a family of longitudinal parallel webs 16 are formed, each having a V-shaped longitudinal profile through a transverse kink 17 and 17 'and thereby with their V-bend inside 18 Rectangular tube 11 are directed. This creates contact webs 16 which surround the knife blade 21 of the coupled flat connector 20 on all sides. This gives the rectangular tube 11 the appearance of a cage 19, in which, depending on the blade width, a plurality of contact webs 16 each contact the two blade surfaces 25, namely two in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7 and four in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2. However, even against the knife edge 26, a single contact web is pressed in the coupling case in a contact-effective manner with the area of a V-fold apex 17˝. This kink apex 17, 17 'are in one Longitudinal offset to one another, as can be seen from FIGS. 4 to 7.

On the broad sides 14 of the cage 19 there are basically two groups of contact webs 16, which have an eccentrically arranged kink apex 17, 17 ', but are mirror images of one another in adjacent webs. The eccentric bends 17, as shown in Fig. 4, in pairs, a long and a short V-leg 28,29, 28 ', 29' arise, but these are arranged in an alternating order with adjacent contact webs 16, as in the alternative of Fig. 2 can be seen. The contact web 16 located on the narrow side 15 of the cage 19, however, has a kink apex 17˝ sitting approximately in the longitudinal center, which is why both V-legs are of the same length and therefore there is a shorter offset distance 37˝ of the kink 17˝ in the cage 19. According to this offset 37, 37˝ the individual contact webs 16 are deformed one after the other during the coupling process; which is why there is only a small push-on force each time. The webs 16 also have such a long web length and such a small web width and such a flat kink that only a relatively small deformation force is required in any case for their deformation. The longitudinal joint 31 which arises in the case of the described bending of the sheet material 12 in the rectangular tube 11 is located, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, on one broad side 14 of the rectangular profile. The position of the fold lines 30 in the sheet metal material 12 is indicated by dash-dotted lines in FIG. 8. At the outer end of the cage 19 there is a funnel-shaped flange 32 which is interrupted for easier bending in the area of the folding lines 30 due to cutouts 33 in the sheet metal material 12 and during subsequent assembly serves as a stop for the next component 40 of the flat receptacle 10. A locking opening 34 in one broad profile side 14 also serves to secure the mounting position.

This next component consists of a two-part base member 40, which, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 9 to 12, forms in one piece from its sheet material 42 a box-shaped quiver 41 at one end and a usual connection area 43 for the conductor with corresponding claws. The box-shaped quiver 41 consists of a rectangular profile 44 which results from FIG. 10 and which is designed to closely match the dimensions of the cage 19, which in this case forms an insert to be positioned in the quiver interior 48 in the case of assembly. The cage 19 is inserted from the free end 45 into the base member 40 until the aforementioned funnel flange 32 finally strikes there. The closed broad side of the quiver 41 is provided with a latching projection 35 which, in the case of assembly, cooperates with the already mentioned grid opening 34 of the cage 19, while on the opposite broad side, interrupted by a longitudinal joint 49 during box formation, a bead 46 is formed, which is for the Engagement relationship of the aforementioned locking halves 34, 35 provides. The locking connection is thereby secured. Contrary to the orientation of FIG. 2, one could ensure that the longitudinal joints 31, 49 on both sides come to lie on opposite sides of the respective rectangular profile.

The mutual mounting position of the two parts 19, 40 can additionally or additionally also be brought about by welded connections, which are expediently carried out in the region of the longitudinal joint 49 or 31. Welds, mainly if they extend over a larger joint length, then create an annular closed rectangular profile, which contributes to the stiffening. The quiver 41 is finally on its outer broad sides with protruding catch hook 47.38. provided, which serve to position and secure the position of a third component 50 of the flat receptacle 10 according to the invention, the appearance of which is described in more detail in FIGS. 13 to 16.

This third component consists of a protective sleeve 50, which has the rectangular profile 51 shown in FIG. 15 and is made of a specific material with high strength, such as steel sheet 52, which in the first phase of its shaping is the stamped sheet metal shown in FIG. 16. Like the other diecuts of sheet material 12 and 42 from FIGS. 8 and 12, this is related to the other sheet web, which is moved from station to station in strip form, of course, via a projection 36 indicated in FIG. The sheet material 12 in the rectangular tube quiver 19 is of a different type and consists of a material with a high spring constant, which satisfies the elastic properties of the contact webs 16. The sheet metal sheet 42 of the base part 40, on the other hand, consists of a material with particularly good conductivity, which is why a high copper content in the sheet metal alloy is desirable here.

The steel sheet 52 is already provided in the die-cut part of FIG. 6 with two windows 53, in which, in the later shaping, outwardly bent retaining tongues 57 are cut, which are used for the later assembly of the insulation housing of the flat plug socket 10 mentioned at the beginning.

The rectangular profile 51 is again created by folding the steel sheet 52 on parallel lines that determine the profile corners, the analog longitudinal joint 59 that arises here being located on one profile narrow side 55, while the aforementioned windows 53 with the retaining tongues 57 on both profile broad sides 54 are positioned.

The protective sleeve 50 has a profile size 51 which can encase the box-shaped case 41 of the base member 40 in a close fit. The aforementioned latching hooks 47 and 38 serve to mutually secure the position of these two components. The inner latching hook 47 serves as an end stop for the inner end face 58 of the protective sleeve 50. The outer latching hooks 38, on the other hand, move into the window 53 located on the broad sides 54 mentioned and engage behind the inner window edge 56 shown in FIG. 13. The length of the protective sleeve 50 is selected to match the quiver 41; in particular, after the position secured by the latching hooks 38, 47, the above-mentioned front end 45 lies with the funnel flange 32 of the cage 19 inserted there flush with the outer end 39 of the protective sleeve. Here, too, the mutual position between the protective sleeve 50 and the base member 40 can alternatively or additionally be determined by welding, in particular laser welding. Welded connections are expediently carried out again in the longitudinal joint 59 of the rectangular profile 51 and can also serve to create a rectangular profile 51 which is closed in a ring-shaped manner.

It goes without saying that other closing elements can also contribute to securing the mounting position instead of the latching connections mentioned. You can do this by touching the surface nested pipes 11, 41, 50 may be provided with aligned openings, in which elevations engage in an interlocking manner. This applies, for example, to the flat receptacle 10˝ shown in FIG. 3, where instead of the holding tongues 57 described above for latching with the associated socket housing, the protective sleeve 50˝ there has a fully cut-out window 53˝, which in the case of installation has an opening 60 in the broad side wall of Quiver 41˝ of the associated base member is aligned. After assembly of the associated insulation housing, a locking projection extends through the window 53˝ and the opening 60 and thereby fixes the position of these parts in the flat socket 10˝ and locks the flat socket with the associated insulation housing.

Another specialty of FIG. 3 is finally that, at least in the protective sleeve 50˝, the resulting joint 59˝ runs like a labyrinth and extends over both the broad profile side 54 and the narrow profile side 55. This crenellated labyrinth course creates upper and lower fingers 61, 62, which engage in one another and extend from one profile side 54 to the other 55 or vice versa. This makes the rectangular profile of the protective sleeve 50hül more rigid and improves the mounting position with the other components of this flat socket 10steck.

The design of the flat receptacle shown in FIG. 1 has, in principle, as already mentioned, the same appearance as the components of a modification described in FIGS. 4 to 16. These differ only in the dimensioning of the profile widths; the rectangular profile shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 has a larger dimension Broadside 54 and therefore belongs to an analog flat connector of a different size, which of course also includes a knife contact member with a correspondingly widened blade surface 25. Accordingly, a larger number of contact webs 16 is also possible there, as has already been described. 4 to 6, the cage 19 can be provided on its broad side 14 provided with the longitudinal joint 31 with a projection 63, the top of which cooperates with the inner wall surface of the quiver 41 from the base member 40 when the assembly is necessary. In the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1 to 3, the longitudinal joints 31, 49 of the cage 19 and the quiver 41 are in alignment with one another, which is favorable for the welded connection mentioned, for example by laser welding.

Reference symbol list:

10th

Flat receptacle, conductive links

10˝

3 female connector (conductive members)

11

Rectangular tube

12th

Sheet material from 19, 11

13

Longitudinal slot

14

Broadside of 11

15

Narrow side of 11

16

Contact bridge

17, 17 ′

Cross bend, V-bend parting

17˝

symmetrical crest

18th

Inside of the cage

19th

Cage

20th

Flat plug, knife contact element

21

Knife blade

22

Connection area of 20

23

Conductor wire claw

24th

Wire insulation claw

25th

Blade area of 21

26

Knife edge

27

Blade tip

28, 28 ′

long V-leg

29, 29 ′

short V-leg

30th

Folding line from 12

31

Longitudinal joint in 11

32

Funnel flange from 19

33

Cutout at 32

34

Rest opening from 19th

35

Locking projection of 40

36

Approach of 12 on the metal strip

37, 37˝

Longitudinal offset between 17, 17 'and 17, 17˝

38

Locking hook

39

outer forehead of 50

40

Base link

41

Quiver of 40

41˝

Quiver of Fig. 3

42

Sheet material from 40

43

Connection area of 40

44

Rectangular profile of 41

45

free end of 41

46

Surround

47

Locking hook

48

Inside of the quiver

49

Longitudinal joint of 41

50

Protective sleeve

50˝

Protective sleeve of Fig. 3rd

51

Rectangular profile of 50

52

Sheet steel for 50

53

Window in 54

53˝

Window at Fig. 3

54

Broadside of 51

55

Narrow side of 51

56

inner window edge

57

Tongue

58

inner forehead

59

Longitudinal joint of 50

59˝

Labyrinth joint in Fig. 3

60

Breakthrough in 41˝

61

upper fingers of 50˝

62

lower fingers of 50˝

63

head Start

Claims (13)

1. An electrical flat plug socket (10) provided with a flat plug (20) for a flat plug connection and comprising a socket member (19, 40) and a protective sleeve (50), having the features:

   a. the flat plug socket (10) has a rectangular profile (11);

   b. at least two contact points are arranged on both broad sides (14) of the flat plug socket (10);

   c. the contact points are arranged on contact strips (16) separated by longitudinal slots;

   d. the contact strips (16) are bent towards the flat plug (20) to be accommodated;

   e. in the coupled state, the two narrow sides (15) of the flat plug socket (10) face the knife edges (26) of the flat plug (20);

   f. the socket member comprises a plurality of longitudinally parallel contact strips (16);

   g. the protective sleeve (50) has a rectangular profile and surrounds the rectangular-tube cage (19) of the socket member;

   and characterised by the further features:

   h. the socket member is formed as a rectangular-tube cage (19);

   i. the contact strips (16) are bent into the cage interior (18) and form contact points therein;

   j. in the coupled state, the contact points of the contact strips (16) also contact the knife edges (26) of the flat plug (20);

   k. the bend or curve vertices (17, 17′, 17˝) of adjacent contact strips (16) are longitudinally staggered (37, 37′);

   l. the contact strips (16) on the broad sides (14) of the rectangular-tube cage (19) form pairs of limbs (28, 28′, 29, 29′) of unequal length due to the off-centre position of the individual bend or curve vertices (17, 17′), a long limb (28) alternating with a short limb (29′) when seen in the order of consecutive contact strips (16), and

   m. a contact strip (16) on the narrow side (15) of the rectangular-tube cage (19) has a pair of limbs of equal length due to the central position of its individual bend or curve vertex (17˝).
2. A flat plug socket according to claim 1, characterised in that the flat plug socket (10) has a base member (40) comprising connections (43) for the conductor and a box-shaped casing (41) for accommodating the socket member over its entire surface, the socket member comprising only the separately manufactured rectangular-tube cage (19) which forms a fixed insert in the casing (41) of the base member (40).
3. A flat plug socket according to claim 2, characterised in that the protective sleeve (50) surrounds the casing (41) of the base member (40) and has holding elements for an insulating housing, such as holding tongues (57) locatable therein.
4. A flat plug socket according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the sheet materials (12, 42, 52) of the rectangular-tube cage (19), of the base member (40) with the casing (41) and of the protective sleeve (50) respectively are specifically different from each other, in the first case (12) having a high spring rate, in the second case (42) having good electrical conductivity and in the third case (52) having high strength.
5. A flat plug socket according to one or more of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the longitudinal joints (31, 49, 59) formed when the sheet material (12, 42, 52) is bent (30) to form the rectangular tubes (11,44, 51) are located in the cage (19) and/or the casing (41) and/or the protective sleeve (50) at least in pairs (59, 49) on different sides of the tubes.
6. A flat plug socket according to claim 5, characterised in that the longitudinal joint (59) in the protective sleeve (50) is located on the narrow side (55) of its rectangular profile (51).
7. A flat plug socket according to one or more of claims 2 to 6, characterised in that complementary locking elements, such as interlocking elevations (38, 47, 46) and recesses (34, 53) or stops (32) abutting against shoulders (45, 58), are formed on the tubular members for securing the mutual assembly position between the cage (19), the casing (41) and the protective sleeve (50).
8. A flat plug socket according to claim 7, characterised in that, in the assembled state, a stop hook (38) formed on the casing (41) of the base member (40) engages behind the edge (56) of a window (53) produced in the wall of the protective sleeve (50) when the holding tongue (57) is cut out.
9. A flat plug socket according to one or more of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that welds, in particular laser welds, serve to secure the mutual assembly position between the cage (19) and/or the casing (41) and/or the protective sleeve (50).
10. A flat plug socket according to claim 9, characterised in that the welds are arranged in the region of the longitudinal joint (31, 49, 59) of the rectangular tube of the cage (19) and/or the casing (41) and/or the protective sleeve (50).
11. A flat plug socket according to claim 10, characterised in that the longitudinal joint (59) of at least the protective sleeve (50) is closed, at least in places, by welded connections such as laser welds and produces a closed annular profile in the rectangular profile (51).
12. A flat plug socket according to one or more of claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the longitudinal joint (59˝) of the rectangular tube extends in a labyrinth-like manner over at least two rectangular sides (54, 55).
13. A flat plug socket according to one or more of claims 2 to 12, characterised in that the rectangular-tube cage (19) has an insertion funnel (32) acting as a stop against the outer end (45) of the casing (41) in the assembled state.

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