EP0594937A1 - Electric plug connection - Google Patents

Abstract

Electric plug-and-socket connection (10), in particular for connecting a control line to a mobile operating unit, having a socket (16) and a plug (12) which can be inserted into the socket, each of which have a housing (18, 14), and having at least one movable locking member, which is arranged in the housing (18) of the socket (16), for the purpose of positively locking with the socket (16) a plug housing (14) inserted into the socket. At least one locking member locks the plug housing (14) automatically with the socket housing (18) upon being inserted into the socket (16). <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to an electrical connector according to the preamble of claim 1. In particular, the invention relates to an electrical connector with a plurality of electrical contacts, i.e. the plug has a large number of plug or socket contacts and the associated socket has a corresponding number of socket or plug contacts. Such plug connections are often used to connect multi-core control lines to one another or to connect control lines to machines and devices or their operating unit.

The invention also relates to a plug connection with a plug and a socket upper part according to claim 12. Socket upper parts of the type mentioned are present, for example, on electrical wall sockets, as can be found in almost every room, which is connected to the public power supply or can be connected to another power supply is.

Special problems arise in connection with mobile control units, such as those used for rail-guided overhead cranes in factory buildings or for construction cranes. The mobile control unit is connected to the main control via a control line, so that a construction crane selected as an example can be controlled not only from the crane operator's cab, but also from the ground with the mobile control unit. Such a mobile operating unit is normally hard-wired to the control line, which in turn is hard-wired to the main control arranged in the area of the crane operator's cab. On construction sites there is a gross misjudgment of the load-bearing capacity of such a wired one Control line often before that people hang on the mobile control unit of a construction crane and back and forth, which usually leads to tearing out the control line either on the mobile control unit, but more often on the main controller, which is difficult to access.

In order to counter the problem of the control line tearing out, attempts have already been made to make the control line more load-bearing by means of a wire rope core. Attempts have also been made to provide strain relief for the control line by means of additional steel cables attached outside the control line between the mobile operating unit and the main control. However, all of these solutions did not lead to a satisfactory result with regard to the tearing out of the control line. The problem of tearing electrical lines does not only arise with cranes, but in principle everywhere where a mobile unit or a mobile device is connected to a fixed arrangement via an electrical line.

If electrical lines are not hard-wired to the corresponding devices, but are connected via electrical plug connections, then those with a mechanical interlock are often used to prevent the electrical plug connection from being unintentionally disconnected. Such plug connections can be easily unlocked manually and, in the locked state, ensure an electrical connection that is secured against unintentional loosening, but they do not solve the problem of pulling out cables.

From DE-GM 17 25 870 a device for locking a connector in a socket is known. The device has a latch which is pivotably attached to the front of the upper part of the socket and which, after the plug has been inserted into the socket, is rotated downward, as a result of which it projects into the receiving opening cross section of the upper part of the socket and blocks the plug from falling out or being pulled out. In another embodiment, two guide grooves are arranged on the front of the upper part of the socket, into which a U-shaped slider is pushed after the plug is inserted into the socket, which covers part of the receiving opening cross section of the socket and thus prevents the plug from falling out or being pulled out.

From DE 86 27 140 U1 a restraint device for lever-operated interrupter and / or protective devices is known. This device, which relates to industrial sockets for connecting larger machines to the mains, has a multi-pin socket into which the retaining device consisting of a pivoted lever protrudes when an operating lever closing the circuit has been flipped when the plug is inserted into the socket. The lever of the retaining device has a notch at one end which can engage around a retaining projection formed on the connector. The forced coupling of the circuit actuating lever and the retaining device ensures that a plug can only be inserted into the socket when the circuit is interrupted, and that the plug is prevented from being pulled out when the circuit is closed.

The invention is therefore based on the object of providing a solution which prevents the tearing out of electrical lines, in particular multi-core control lines and power supply lines, and yet ensures an electrical connection which is easy to operate and secured against unintentional disconnection.

This object is achieved with an electrical connector, which has the features of claim 1. According to the invention, an electrical plug connection consisting of plug and socket has accordingly been created, which does not need to be unlocked before the plug or its housing is inserted into the socket.

A preferred embodiment of the electrical plug connection according to the invention has two movable locking bodies which spring into the opening cross section of the socket are biased, ie they partially protrude into the opening cross-section of the socket. With two locking bodies, a structure that is less sensitive to tilting can often be achieved.

In addition, a preferred embodiment also releases the automatic locking automatically in response to a load that could otherwise lead to the connected electrical line being torn out.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the plug connection according to the invention, the locking bodies are bolt-shaped and arranged in the socket housing in such a way that they engage in the locking position with part of their circumferential surface in a recess provided on the plug housing, for example in the form of an annular groove. The bolts are arranged in this embodiment so that their longitudinal axes extend substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the connector, but they do not cut it. Instead of bolt-shaped locking bodies, for example, locking pins with rounded heads can be used in modified embodiments, which engage in corresponding spherical spherical recesses in the plug housing, or rotatably mounted levers can be used, on which projections are designed in the manner of a double-sided ramp, which are formed in the Project the opening cross-section of the socket and interact with appropriately designed recesses in the connector housing.

Depending on the geometry of the locking body used and the strength of the resilient preload, almost any desired threshold value can be set, after which the locking body or bodies automatically release the connector housing.

In a further embodiment of the plug connection according to the invention, the socket housing or the plug housing has a device for manually unlocking an inserted plug housing. This is particularly advantageous when the predetermined value, from which the locking body or bodies release the connector housing is relatively high. In such a case, the electrical plug connection according to the invention can be separated more easily with the device for manual unlocking. In one embodiment, the device for manual unlocking is a release ring which is rotatably attached to the socket housing concentrically with the socket and is in mechanical connection with the locking element or elements. In an ergonomically advantageous manner, the plug can be unlocked with one hand by a brief rotation of the release ring and pulled out of the socket almost simultaneously with the same hand.

In another embodiment of the plug connection according to the invention, two bolts serve as locking bodies, which are arranged on both sides of an axis of the socket housing in the latter. One end of each bolt is supported with play in a receiving opening in the socket housing, while the other end is supported with play in a slide. The two slides are guided in the socket housing and each have a nose with the release ring in a positive connection that a rotation of the same by only 10 to 20 ° causes a linear displacement of the two slides in opposite directions, whereby the two bolts move to their unlocked position will. Preferred in this embodiment is each bolt by one near its other end, i.e. of the end, which is mounted in the associated slide, biasing spring biased into the locking position, the other ends of both bolts being arranged opposite to each other. In this way, an advantageous, largely symmetrical clamping state is achieved.

In yet another embodiment of the plug connection according to the invention, each locking body is integrally connected to a leaf spring. The locking body is integrally formed on the leaf spring which prestresses it resiliently into the opening cross section of the socket. The leaf spring is preferably at least approximately semicircularly bent and arranged essentially concentrically to the bushing, the locking body being an essentially bolt-shaped section is the leaf spring, which engages, similarly to an embodiment described above, with part of its circumferential surface in a recess provided on the plug housing, for example in the form of an annular groove. The forces that have to be overcome when inserting the plug into the socket and when pulling the plug out of it depend on the spring force of the leaf spring and the geometry of the molded locking body and can thus be precisely specified. This embodiment can be easily assembled after the manufacture of its individual parts and can be easily adapted to different plug or socket sizes.

This embodiment also advantageously has a release ring for manual unlocking, which, for example, is rotatably fastened concentrically to the plug on the plug housing and is in mechanical connection with the locking body or bodies when the plug is inserted into the socket. However, the release ring can just as well be arranged on the socket housing.

In many embodiments of the electrical plug connection according to the invention, the housing of the plug and the socket have a round cross-sectional shape. However, the invention is not limited to round plugs and sockets, but can equally well be used for electrical plug connections with, for example, a rectangular cross-sectional shape.

According to the invention, therefore, an easy-to-use electrical plug connection has been created in which the problem of lines tearing out when the tensile load is too high no longer occurs. The plug connection according to the invention is also inexpensive to manufacture and simple to assemble.

According to the invention, in the case of a plug connection with a plug and an upper part of the socket, it is avoided that, before a plug is inserted into the upper part of the socket, the lever or levers must first be moved out of the receiving opening cross section by means of the actuating member. The plug can be plugged in like a conventional socket can be inserted without locking and is automatically locked in the socket.

In a preferred embodiment, two levers are arranged on the rear side of the upper part, which protrude into the receiving opening cross section through opposing slots. This arrangement ensures an even more secure locking of the plug in the socket, at the same time largely preventing the plug from jamming in the socket when a tensile load acts on it.

In one embodiment of the upper part of the socket, the actuating member is a rotary knob which extends through the upper part and is articulated on its rear side to each lever. The rotary movement carried out by a user is transmitted from the rotary knob to each lever, for example via pulling elements which are pivotably mounted on its rear side.

In another embodiment, the actuating member is a push button extending through the upper part, which is designed in such a way that a pressure movement exerted on the push button from the front side of the upper part is converted into a rotary movement on the rear side thereof. The back of the push button can be connected to each lever as in the previously described embodiment.

In yet another embodiment, the actuating member is a push button extending through the upper part and having a number of ramp-shaped elevations corresponding to the number of levers adjacent to its rear end. In this embodiment, the pressure movement exerted on the push button is preferably transmitted to a lever via a ramp-like elevation and a guided thrust member. When the push button is released, each spring-loaded lever automatically moves back into the locking position.

In a modified embodiment, it points into the receiving opening cross section protruding part of each lever has a bevelled guide surface which cooperates with the corresponding guide lug of the plug so that the lever is moved out of the receptacle opening cross section when the plug is pulled out of the socket. In this embodiment, a high tensile load of a plug inserted in the upper part of the socket according to the invention cannot result in the electrical cable connected to the plug being torn out on the electrical device or in the socket being damaged or possibly even being torn out of the wall. It is easily possible to measure the force which resiliently prestresses each lever into the receiving opening cross section such that, for example, from a tensile load of 5 or 10 kp, which acts on a plug inserted in the socket, each lever is moved out of the receiving opening cross section. so that the plug can come out of the socket. With a suitably selected pretensioning force it is nevertheless ensured that small children cannot pull the plug out of the socket.

Fig. 1

den Längsschnitt eines ersten Ausführungsbeispiels einer aus Stecker und Buchse bestehenden, erfindungsgemäßen elektrischen Steckverbindung in verriegeltem Zustand,

Fig. 2

die Vorderansicht der Buchse aus Fig. 1 bei abgezogenem Stecker,

Fig. 3

den Querschnitt III-III aus Fig. 1,

Fig. 4

einen Schnitt entsprechend Fig. 3 bei entriegelter Steckverbindung,

Fig. 5a

verschiedene Ansichten eines in der erfindungsge- bis 5d mäßen Steckverbindung vorhandenen Schiebers,

Fig. 6

die Seitenansicht eines Löserings der erfindungsgemäßen Steckverbindung,

Fig. 7

einen Schnitt des Löserings aus Fig. 6,

Fig. 8

die Ansicht Z aus Fig. 6,

Fig. 9

die Vorderansicht der Buchse eines abgewandelten Ausführungsbeispiels in entriegelter Stellung,

Fig.10

die Ansicht aus Fig. 9 in Verriegelungsstellung,

Fig.11a

den Querschnitt einer im abgewandelten Ausführungsbeispiel gemäß Fig. 9 und 10 eingesetzten Blattfeder mit angeformtem Verriegelungskörper,

Fig.11b

den Längsschnitt der Blattfeder aus Fig.11a, und

Fig.12

den Längsschnitt eines in der Buchse des abgewandelten Ausführungsbeispiels verwendeten Isolierkörpers in vereinfachter Darstellung.

Fig. 13

einen Stecker und ein Steckdosenoberteil in perspektivischer, teilweise aufgebrochener Darstellung,

Fig. 14

die Draufsicht auf die Rückseite des Steckdosenoberteils aus Fig. 13 in Verriegelungsstellung,

Fig. 14a

die rechte Hälfte der Fig. 14 in Entriegelungsstellung,

Fig. 15

die Draufsicht auf die rechte Hälfte der Rückseite einer abgewandelten Ausführungsform in Verriegelungsstellung,

Fig. 15a

die Ansicht aus Fig. 15 in Entriegelungsstellung,

Fig. 16

die Draufsicht auf die rechte Hälfte einer weiteren Ausführungsform in Verriegelungsstellung, und

Fig. 16a

die Ansicht aus Fig. 16 in Entriegelungsstellung.

Two exemplary embodiments of a plug connection according to the invention are explained in more detail below with the aid of schematic drawings. It shows:

Fig. 1

2 shows the longitudinal section of a first exemplary embodiment of an electrical plug connection according to the invention consisting of plug and socket in the locked state,

Fig. 2

2 the front view of the socket from FIG. 1 with the plug removed,

Fig. 3

the cross section III-III of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4

3 shows a section corresponding to FIG. 3 with the plug connection unlocked,

Fig. 5a

different views of a slide present in the connector according to the invention up to 5d,

Fig. 6

the side view of a release ring of the connector according to the invention,

Fig. 7

6 shows a section of the release ring from FIG. 6,

Fig. 8

the view Z from FIG. 6,

Fig. 9

the front view of the socket of a modified embodiment in the unlocked position,

Fig. 10

9 in the locked position,

Fig.11a

9 shows the cross section of a leaf spring used in the modified exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 9 and 10 with an integrally formed locking body,

Fig.11b

the longitudinal section of the leaf spring from Fig.11a, and

Fig. 12

the longitudinal section of an insulating body used in the socket of the modified embodiment in a simplified representation.

Fig. 13

a plug and an upper part of a socket in perspective, partially broken away,

Fig. 14

the top view of the back of the socket top part of FIG. 13 in the locked position,

14a

the right half of FIG. 14 in the unlocked position,

Fig. 15

the top view of the right half of the back of a modified embodiment in the locked position,

15a

15 in the unlocked position,

Fig. 16

the top view of the right half of a further embodiment in the locked position, and

Fig. 16a

the view of Fig. 16 in the unlocked position.

In Fig. 1, an electrical connector 10 is shown with automatic locking and unlocking function. The electrical plug connection 10 has a plug 12 with a plug housing 14 which is divided in two in the axial direction and a socket 16 with a socket housing 18 which is divided in two in the circumferential direction. Both the plug 12 and the socket 16 have a round cross-sectional shape.

In the front section of the plug housing 14 facing the socket 16 there is an insulating body 20 which is prepared for receiving a multiplicity of plug contacts (not shown) in stepped through recesses 22. The plug contacts are connected by soldering or crimping to different cores of an electrical line, not shown, which is guided from the rear through a bend protection 24 into a space 26 in the rear part of the plug housing 14. The rear part of the connector housing 14 is screwed into its front part and, via a sealing ring 28, presses the insulating body 20 firmly against a radially inwardly projecting projection 30 formed in the front part of the connector housing 14. A seal 32 is located in the rear part of the connector housing 14 is arranged, encloses the supplied electrical line, so that the interior of the connector housing 14 is sealed against environmental influences.

A second insulating body 34 is fastened in the socket housing 18 and is intended to receive a number of socket contacts, not shown, which are arranged in through-recesses 35 and the number of which corresponds to the number of plug contacts which are arranged in the insulating body 20 of the plug 12. The socket 16 with its housing 18 is in the example shown an integral part of a mobile, not shown Operating unit for cranes, ie the socket housing 18 is part of the housing of the mobile operating unit. Likewise, however, the socket housing can be permanently installed in an apparatus or machine housing, or the socket 16, like the plug 12, can have its own free housing.

The locking and unlocking function of the electrical connector 10 is explained in more detail below. As can be seen from the frontal view of the socket 16 shown in FIG. 2 with the plug 12 pulled out, two locking bodies in the form of bolts 36 are arranged in the socket 16 on both sides of an axis S, which by means of a mechanism described in more detail below in the opening cross section limited by the edge A. of the bushing 16 are biased and protrude with a part of their peripheral surface into the opening cross section of the bushing 16. When inserting the plug 12 into the socket 16, a chamfer 38 present at the front end of the plug 12 (see FIG. 1) causes the spring-loaded bolts 36 to be pressed out of the opening cross section of the socket 16, so that the plug 12 continues to be in the socket 16 can be guided until the two bolts 36 snap into an annular groove 40 (see FIG. 1) formed on the plug housing 14, as a result of which the plug 12 is locked in the socket 16.

Fig. 3 shows the inner structure of the socket 16 better. The two bolts 36 have a round cross-sectional shape and extend on both sides of the axis S essentially parallel to it. One end of each bolt 36 is movably mounted in a receiving opening 42 formed in the socket housing 18 and narrowing towards the end of the bolt. At the bottom of each receiving opening 42 there is a hemispherical elevation 44 on which one end of the corresponding bolt 36 is supported with its end face. The opposite, other end of each bolt 36 is held with play in a recess 46 each of a slide 48, the exact shape of which is shown in FIGS. 5a to 5d. Two helical springs 50, which are supported on the edge of the socket housing 18, engage the at substantially right angles to the other end of each bolt Bolt 36 and clamp them into the opening cross section of the socket 16 into the locking position, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 (FIG. 1 actually shows the section BCDE from FIG. 3).

In contrast to this, FIG. 4 shows the unlocked position of the bolts 36, in which they no longer protrude into the opening cross section of the bush 16. The bolts 36 are pressed into their unlocked position by the two slides 48, one of which will now be described in more detail. As can be seen from FIGS. 2 and 3, the bolts 36 accordingly tilt back and forth between the locking position and the unlocking position, the tilting axis being arranged in each case on the tip of the hemispherical elevation 44.

The slide 48 shown in FIGS. 5a to 5d is made of plastic by injection molding. 5a shows a plan view of the side of the slider 48 on which the recess 46 for receiving the other end of a bolt 36 is provided. The slider 48 is a substantially elongate component and has at its end section opposite the recess 46 a nose 52 which projects at right angles from the main body of the slider and, as the side view of the slider 48 shown in FIG. 5b shows, has a rounded, elongated cross section . At the end of the slide 48 adjacent the recess 46, two projections 54 with a rectangular cross section are arranged, which delimit between them a groove 56 of likewise rectangular cross section (see in particular FIGS. 5a to 5c). When installed in the socket housing 18, a correspondingly shaped web 58 engages in the groove 56, which is formed in the socket housing 18 (see FIG. 3) and serves to guide the slide 48. The section C from FIG. 5a shown in FIG. 5c and the view of the slider 48 shown in FIG. 5d show that, in a modified embodiment, the slider 48 is not solid for reasons of weight. The cross section of the recess 46 is not circular, but instead has two straight sections arranged opposite one another in accordance with FIG Recess 46 to allow tilting (see Fig. 4). For the same reason, the lower edge of the recess 46 is not straight, but is semicircularly curved (see FIG. 5d), so that a bolt 36 in the direction of the longitudinal extension of the slide 48 has more freedom of movement than transversely to this direction.

6 and 7 show a release ring 60 which is rotatably held concentrically with the socket 16 on the socket housing 18 (see FIG. 1). The release ring 60 has a gripping surface 62 and a flange 64 projecting therefrom in the axial direction with a substantially L-shaped cross section (see FIGS. 1 and 6). The radially projecting leg of the flange 64 engages in a circumferential groove 65 formed on the socket housing 18, so that the release ring 60 is held on the socket housing 18 and is arranged concentrically to the opening cross section of the socket 16. The flange 64 of the release ring 60 has two mutually opposite cutouts 66. When assembling the bushing 16, the release ring 60 is used so that the nose 52 of a slide 48 engages in each recess 66. In this way, the two sliders 48 are mechanically coupled to one another via the release ring 60. A rotation of the release ring 60 by 10 to 15 ° clockwise thus causes a linear displacement of the two sliders 48 in the socket housing 18 by a few millimeters, whereby the bolts 36 received with their other end in the sliders 48 from the locking position shown in FIG the unlocked position shown in Fig. 4 are moved. The slider 48 move transversely to the axis labeled S in FIG. 3 until the webs 58 formed in the socket housing 18, which at the same time guide the sliding movement of the slider 48, strike the groove base of the groove 56 of each slider. The plug 12 can now be pulled out of the socket 16 with little effort. If the release ring 60 is released, the two slides 48 move back in the opposite direction due to the force exerted by the two springs 50 until the end of each slider 48 opposite the recess 46 strikes a wall 68 in the socket housing 18 and the two bolts 36 move are in the locking position again.

The plug 12 can also be pulled out of the socket 16 in the locked position, since the depth of the annular groove 40 on the plug housing 14 is less than half the cross-sectional dimension of a bolt 36 (see FIG. 1). However, the clamping force transmitted from the coil springs 50 to the plug housing 14 via the bolts 36 must then be overcome. By suitable selection of the dimensions of the bolt and the ring groove as well as their geometries, in conjunction with springs adapted to them, almost any value can be preset from which the socket 16 releases a plug 12 even without actuating a release ring 60.

In the example shown, the socket housing 18 is formed in two parts essentially along a line T shown in FIGS. 2 to 4. This design considerably simplifies the assembly and assembly of the bushing 16. It is only necessary to ensure that when the two housing halves are joined together, the other end of each bolt 36 engages in the corresponding recess 46 of the slider 48 and its lugs 52 in the recesses 66 of the release ring 60.

9 to 12 show a modified exemplary embodiment of the electrical plug connection 10, which differs from the previously described embodiment mainly by the design of the locking body including the associated springs. The function of a bolt 36 and the associated spring 50 is assumed in the exemplary embodiment according to FIGS. 9 to 12 by a one-piece locking component 70, which consists of an at least approximately semicircularly curved leaf spring 72 and a projection 74 formed on its inner surface and forming a locking body ( see in particular Figures 11a and 11b).

As can be seen from FIGS. 9 and 10, two of these locking components 70 are arranged essentially concentrically with the socket 16 in an almost semicircular recess 76 in the insulating body 34 'of the socket 16. Each recess 76 extends extending circumferentially from a narrow guide slot 78 located at one end to its other end. Each leaf spring 72 is precisely guided in the circumferential direction of the bush with an end section in the corresponding guide slot 78. The remaining part of the leaf spring 72 or of the locking component 70, which is not arranged in the guide slot 78, can move in the radial area in the enlarged area of the associated recess 76, in that it rotates about a point P located at the exit of the guide slot 78. The points P of both locking components 70 lie on a common axis N which intersects the longitudinal axis of the bush 16.

FIG. 9 shows the unlocked position, in which the two projections 74 do not protrude into the opening cross section of the bush 16 defined by the edge A, while FIG. 10 shows the locked position, in which the projections 74 - like the bolts 36 of the previously described embodiment - in protrude the opening cross section of the socket 16. The locking position represents the normal position, i.e. the locking components 70 are prestressed in this position and can only be brought into the unlocking position according to FIG. 9 by the action of force.

As can be seen more precisely from FIG. 11b, a part 80 of the other end section of each locking component 70, which is not located in the guide slot 78, projects in the axial direction and is bent radially outward. In contrast to the first exemplary embodiment, the release ring in the modified exemplary embodiment is rotatably fastened to the plug housing 14 and is likewise arranged coaxially to the longitudinal axis of the plug connection 10 (not shown). In the modified exemplary embodiment, the release ring has numerous axially projecting lugs which are equally spaced in the circumferential direction, two of which engage the parts 80 of the locking components 70 when the connector 12 is inserted into the socket 16 when the release ring is rotated to manually unlock the plug connection . Each nose of the release ring therefore presses against the locking component at a point designated 82 when it is rotated 70 and moves it from the locking position shown in Figure 10 to the unlocking position shown in Figure 9. The numerous lugs present on the release ring of the modified embodiment ensure that insertion of the plug 12 into the socket 16 is usually possible without problems. Should one of the lugs exactly hit the axially protruding part 80 of a locking component 70 when inserting the plug 12 into the socket 16, a minimal rotation of the release ring is sufficient to allow the plug 12 to be fully inserted into the socket 16.

The installation of the locking components 70 will now be described with reference to the longitudinal section of the insulating body 34 ′ shown in FIG. For reasons of clarity, the passage recesses for socket contacts present in the insulating body 34 'are not shown in FIG. For assembly, the locking components 70 are simply pushed into the bottom in FIG. 12 through an annular gap 84 present in the insulating body 34 '. The upper stop serves radially protruding into the recesses 76 guide lugs 86 (see also Fig. 9 and 10), which at the same time prevent the locking components 70 from being pulled out of the socket when pulling the plug 12 out of the socket 16.

The modified embodiment of the electrical plug connection just described has all the advantages of the first embodiment, ie the value from which the socket 16 releases an inserted plug 12 when subjected to tensile load can be set precisely via the spring force of the leaf springs 72 and the geometry of the projections 74. A particular advantage of the second embodiment is its simpler assembly and the possibility of keeping the diameter of the plug connection significantly smaller without functional disadvantages for a given diameter of the insulating body.

13 shows a conventional electrical plug 110 with two pin-shaped contacts 112 and a protective contact 114. On the right and left, a guide lug 116 is formed on the plug 110, of which only one can be seen in FIG. 13. The plug 110 is connected in a conventional manner to an electrical cable 118, which leads, for example, to an electrical device not shown in FIG. 13.

Opposite the plug 110, an upper socket part 120 is shown in FIG. 13, as is used in a similar form on conventional wall sockets. The upper part 120 has a receiving opening 122 with cutouts 124 and 126, so that the plug 110 can be inserted into the upper part 120. The upper part 120 is fastened on a socket frame, not shown, which is mounted in a wall and also carries socket-shaped mating contacts, not shown, for example by means of a screw. When the plug 110 is inserted into the socket, the pin-shaped contacts 112 of the plug protrude through the circular recesses 124 of the upper part into the socket-shaped contacts of the socket frame, not shown, while through the slot-shaped recesses 126 formed at the top and bottom of the receptacle opening 122, the spring frame is attached to the socket frame (not shown), which press on the protective contact 114 of the plug 110 and establish the connection to the neutral conductor.

On the back of the upper socket part 120, two levers 128 are pivotally mounted, of which only one is shown in FIG. 13. The levers 128 project resiliently pretensioned into the receiving opening cross section through slots 130 located opposite one another and formed in the side wall of the receiving opening 122. The plane in which they are in the receiving opening cross section protrude, is substantially parallel to the front of the upper socket part 120. A bevelled guide surface 132 is formed on the part of each lever 128 protruding into the receiving opening cross section. The guide surface 132 of each lever 128 blocks a guide groove 134 formed in the upper part of the socket or its receiving opening 122. When the plug 110 is inserted into the receiving opening 122 of the upper part 120, the guide lugs 116 of the plug engage with the corresponding guide grooves 134 of the upper part of the socket. If the guide lugs 116 run onto the bevelled guide surface 132 of the levers 128, the levers 128 are pressed out of the receiving opening cross section by the guide lugs 116 when the plug 110 is pushed in further. After the guide lugs 116 have passed the levers 128, the levers 128 pretensioned by means of a spring (see FIG. 14) snap back into the receiving opening cross section and engage behind the guide lugs 116 of the plug 110, as a result of which the latter is locked in the socket or the upper part 120 of the socket . The relevant dimensions of the upper socket part 120 and of the plug 110 are selected such that shortly after the levers 128 are snapped back into the receiving opening cross section and the guide lugs 116 engage behind, the plug 110 strikes the bottom 136 of the receiving opening 122. In this way, a largely play-free fit of the plug 110 in the upper socket part 120 is ensured.

An actuating element in the form of a rotary knob 138 is arranged on the front of the upper socket part 120, which extends through the upper part 120 and whose rear side is connected to the levers 128 (see FIG. 14). If the plug 110 is to be pulled out of the socket, the rotary knob 138 must first be turned somewhat clockwise in order to move the lever 128 out of the receiving opening cross section to such an extent that it no longer engages behind the guide lugs 116 of the plug 110, so that the lock is solved. Only then can the plug 110 be pulled out of the socket or the upper part 120 of the socket.

The rear view of the upper socket part 120 shown in FIG. 14 shows the arrangement of the levers 128 and their connection to the rotary knob 138. The levers 128 are in the locked position. Each lever 128 is rotatably mounted at the point designated by reference numeral 140, for example on a plastic spigot formed during the manufacture of the upper socket part 120. In order to obtain a space-saving shape of the lever 128, it is cranked in the area of its bearing 140 inwards in the direction of the receiving opening 122 and its lower end 142 in FIG. 14 is also angled inwards. As indicated by the dash-dotted circular line in FIG. 14, the levers 128 also find sufficient space in a round socket upper part.

At the upper end of the lever 128 in FIG. 14, one end of each tension member 144 is pivotally mounted, the other end of which is also pivotably mounted in recesses 145 on the rear side of the rotary knob 138. A movement of the rotary knob 138 in the direction of the arrow is transmitted to the levers 128 via the tension members 144, so that these - as indicated in FIG. 14 by arrows pointing in the opposite direction - pivot outward from their locking position. The unlocked state is shown in Fig. 14a. The shape of the recesses 145 is chosen so that after a certain rotational path of the button 138 the edges of the recesses 145 come into contact with the tension members 144 (see FIG. 14a), which prevents further rotation of the button 138 in the same direction . At its lower end 142, each lever 128 has an eye 146, into which one end of a spring 148 is suspended, which extends between the two ends of the lever and biases the lever 128 into the locking position.

FIG. 15 shows the rear view of the right half of a symmetrically constructed, modified embodiment of the upper socket part 120, the lever 128 shown being in the locking position. The embodiment according to FIG. 15 differs from the previously explained one in that a push button 150 is used instead of the rotary button 138. The push button 150 consists of two parts 150a and 150b, which are similar to the push button of a ballpoint pen. The part 150a protrudes beyond the front of the socket upper part 120 so that it can be pushed in by a user and has a cam 151 which runs in a helical guide groove 152 which is formed on the inside of the part 150b which the part 150a in concentrically surrounds its rear area. When the part 150a of the push button 150 is pushed in from the front of the upper part 120, the cam 151 running in the helical guide groove 152 forces the part 150b to rotate in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 15. One end of each of the tension members 144 is pivotally mounted on the rear side of the part 150b, so that its rotational movement is transmitted to the lever 128 as in the previous exemplary embodiment, and these are pivoted into the unlocking position shown in FIG. 15a.

16 shows the rear view of the right half of a symmetrically constructed further embodiment of the upper socket part 120. In this embodiment, too, a push button 154 is used, which, however, can be constructed in one piece and has two ramp-shaped elevations 156 adjacent to its rear end, only one of which can be seen in FIG. 16. Each ramp-shaped elevation 156 is in sliding contact with one end of thrust members 158, the other, opposite end of which is pivotally connected to the corresponding lever 128. The push members 158 are thereby on the back of the upper part 120 trained guides 160 guided. The bearing points 140 of the lever 128 are arranged above the thrust members 158 in this embodiment (see FIG. 16).

The ramp-shaped elevations 156 are designed such that when the push button 154 is actuated from the front of the upper socket part 120, the two push elements 158 are pushed apart in the direction of the arrow and move the lever 128 pivotally connected to them into their unlocked position, which is shown in FIG. 16a .

Each of the embodiments shown can be modified such that in addition to the beveled guide surface 132 shown in FIG. 13, a corresponding guide surface is also present on the rear of each lever 128. In an embodiment modified in this way, the plug 110 can be pulled against the force of the spring 148 from the socket or the upper part 120 of the socket without the unlocking having to be actuated beforehand by means of the rotary button 138 or the push buttons 150 or 154. The spring force is then selected so that small children are unable to pull the plug 110 out of the socket. For example, the spring force can be selected so that a force of at least 10 kp is necessary in order to be able to pull out the plug without actuating the release.

Claims (18)

Electrical plug connection (10), in particular for connecting a control line to a mobile operating unit, with a socket (16) and a plug (12) which can be inserted into the socket and each have a housing (18, 14) and at least one in the housing ( 18) the movable locking body (16) arranged for the positive locking of a plug housing (14) inserted into the socket with the socket (16),
characterized in that - The at least one locking body automatically locks the plug housing (14) when it is inserted into the socket (16) with the socket housing (18). Connector according to claim 1,
characterized in that each locking body is resiliently biased into the opening cross-section (A) of the socket (16) and automatically releases the plug housing (14) when an essentially axially directed tensile force acts on the plug connection (10) which exceeds a predetermined value . Plug connection according to claim 1 or 2,
characterized in that the one or more locking bodies are bolt-shaped and are arranged in the socket housing (18) in such a way that in the locking position they engage with a part of their peripheral surface in a recess provided on the plug housing (14). Plug connection according to one of claims 1 to 3,
characterized in that the socket housing (18) or the connector housing (14) has a device for manually unlocking an inserted connector housing (14). Connector according to claim 4,
characterized in that the device for manual unlocking is a release ring (60) which is rotatably fastened concentrically to the socket (16) on the socket housing (18) and is in mechanical connection with the locking element or elements. Connector according to claim 5,
characterized in that two bolts (36) serve as the locking body, which are arranged on both sides of an axis (S) of the socket housing (18), one end of which engages in a receiving opening (42) in the socket housing (18) and the other end of which One slide (48), which is also arranged in the socket housing (18), is mounted, the two slides (48) being in positive connection with the release ring (60) via a nose (52). Plug connection according to claim 6,
characterized in that each bolt (36) is biased into the locked position by a spring (50) engaging near its other end, the other ends of both bolts (36) being opposite to each other. Connector according to claim 4,
characterized in that the device for manual unlocking is a release ring which is rotatably fastened concentrically to the plug (12) on the plug housing (14) and is in mechanical connection with the locking element or bodies when the plug (12) is inserted into the socket (16) . Connector according to claim 8,
characterized in that each locking body is integrally connected to a leaf spring (72). Connector according to claim 9,
characterized in that the leaf spring (72) is bent at least approximately semicircularly and is arranged essentially concentrically to the bushing (16). Connector according to one of the preceding claims,
characterized in that the housings (14, 18) have a round cross-sectional shape. Connector according to claim 1
with a plug (110) and a socket upper part (120) with mechanical locking for a plug (110), the front of which has a receiving opening (122) for the plug (110) and at the rear of which at least one pivoted lever (28) is arranged which, when the plug is pushed in, engages behind a guide lug (16) provided on the latter, the lever (28) being connected to an actuating element extending through the upper part, by the actuation of which the lever (28) can be moved into and out of the receiving opening cross section is where - Each lever (28) is resiliently biased into the receiving opening cross section and projects through a slot (30) formed in the side wall of the receiving opening (22) into the receiving opening cross section, and - In the receiving opening cross section protruding part of each lever (28) has a bevelled guide surface (32) which cooperates with the corresponding guide lug (16) of the plug (10) so that the lever (28) when inserting the plug into the socket the receiving opening cross section is moved out. Plug connection according to claim 12,
characterized in that two levers (128) are arranged on the rear side of the upper part (120) and project into the receiving opening cross section through slots (130) lying opposite one another. Connector according to claim 12 or 13,
characterized in that the actuator is a knob (138) extending through the top (120) and articulated to each lever (128) at the rear thereof. Connector according to claim 12 or 13,
characterized in that the actuator is a push button (150) extending through the top (120), wherein a pushing movement exerted on the push button (150) from the front of the top is converted into a rotary movement at the rear thereof and the back of the push button (150) is articulated to each lever (128). Connector according to claim 12 or 13,
characterized in that the actuating member is a push button (54) extending through the upper part (20) and having, at its rear end, a number of ramp-shaped elevations (56) corresponding to the number of levers (28). Connector according to claim 16,
characterized in that the pressure movement exerted on the push button (54) is transmitted to each lever (28) via the ramp-shaped elevation (56) and a guided thrust member (58). Plug connection according to one of claims 12 to 17,
characterized in that the part of each lever (28) projecting into the receiving opening cross-section has a bevelled guide surface which cooperates with the corresponding guide lug (16) of the plug (10) in such a way that the lever (28) pulls the plug out of the socket the receiving opening cross section is moved out.

Images