EP0860898B1 - Connecteur avec élément de court-circuit - Google Patents

Connecteur avec élément de court-circuit Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0860898B1
EP0860898B1 EP19970103005 EP97103005A EP0860898B1 EP 0860898 B1 EP0860898 B1 EP 0860898B1 EP 19970103005 EP19970103005 EP 19970103005 EP 97103005 A EP97103005 A EP 97103005A EP 0860898 B1 EP0860898 B1 EP 0860898B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
shorting bar
connector
terminals
pieces
contact
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19970103005
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0860898A1 (fr
Inventor
Gary Duane Metz
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ford Global Technologies LLC
Original Assignee
Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ford Global Technologies LLC filed Critical Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority to EP19970103005 priority Critical patent/EP0860898B1/fr
Priority to DE69723543T priority patent/DE69723543T2/de
Publication of EP0860898A1 publication Critical patent/EP0860898A1/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0860898B1 publication Critical patent/EP0860898B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
    • H01R13/66—Structural association with built-in electrical component
    • H01R13/70—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch
    • H01R13/703—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch operated by engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. dual-continuity coupling part
    • H01R13/7031—Shorting, shunting or bussing of different terminals interrupted or effected on engagement of coupling part, e.g. for ESD protection, line continuity
    • H01R13/7032—Shorting, shunting or bussing of different terminals interrupted or effected on engagement of coupling part, e.g. for ESD protection, line continuity making use of a separate bridging element directly cooperating with the terminals

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a connector with shorting bar especially for electrical connections in vehicles.
  • a shorting bar is an electrical connector feature which shorts two terminals together when the connector is not mated. After mating, the shorting bar is deactivated by a deactivation feature on the mating part (i.e. after mating, the terminals are no longer shorted together).
  • Normally shorting bars are constructed of one single planar generally U-shaped piece of metal forming two springs each of which touching one of the terminals to be shorted. After mating the deactivation feature on the mating part has pushed one or both of the springs away from the electrical terminals, thus breaking the conductive connection between the terminals.
  • the shorting bar spring often has a sizeable "lead-in" feature at its tip and as the deactivation feature must be placed between the terminals and the shorting bar, a relatively large amount of package space is required.
  • the connector consists of a housing, terminals, and at least one shorting bar.
  • the shorting bar includes a first and a second separate piece of conductive material, usually stainless steel, and which are essentially planar.
  • Each of the two pieces of conductive material comprises at least two essentially separate elements i.e. the elements are separated from each other by an opening along most of their surface (contour) but joined at the rest. Said elements are deformed (bent) perpendicular to the plane of the first piece of conductive material thus forming two sets of springs, one of which contacts the terminal, the other set contacting the corresponding element of an adjacent second piece of conductive material.
  • the deactivation device is received between the terminal and the shorting bar, with the connector according to the invention, the deactivation device is received between the first and the second piece of conductive material of the shorting bar itself.
  • the deactivation device when inserted between the springs of adjacent pieces of conductive material breaks the contact without large spring deflections.
  • the incremental space needed to package the shorting bar only approaches the thickness of the deactivation feature plus twice the thickness of the piece of conductive material plus one terminal cavity wall thickness.
  • separate elements are formed by stamping a U-shaped opening in the piece of conductive metal. Subsequently, the elements are bent to opposite directions of the plane of the piece of conductive material.
  • One element consists of a single cantilever spring attached at one end whose purpose is to contact the terminal. The free end of the center spring points in the direction of terminal insertion into the cavity to provide for smooth terminal insertion.
  • the second element consists of two springs attached to each other at both ends which contact two corresponding springs on the adjacent half of the shorting bar. Having two outside springs provided for redundant electrical points of contact between the two halves of the shorting bar for greater electrical reliability and lower electrical resistance.
  • part 1 of the housing assembly of the connector terminals 4 and 5 are shown together with connecting wires 2 and 3.
  • part 1 of the housing assembly of the connector contains a first piece 7 of conductive material and a second piece 8 of conductive material each of which comprise separate elements 9 and 10.
  • Elements 9 serve as springs for electrically connecting the adjacent pieces 7,8 of conductive material at point "A".
  • Elements 9, 10 are separated from each other by an opening which is generally U-shaped (in the plane perpendicular to the drawing) thus supplying two points or areas of contact "A" to the elements 9 of adjacent pieces 7,8 of conductive material.
  • Elements 10 serve as springs for electrically connecting the pieces 7,8 of conductive material to the terminals 4, 5.
  • the deactivation rib 11 is shown in a disengaged position.
  • the housing assembly preferably has lead-in features 12.
  • the connector according to the invention additionally to the advantages already described could provide greater mechanical stability and vibration damping as, after mating, the deactivation feature fits firmly between the shorting bar elements securing the mated connectors more tightly together than generally possible with traditional connectors with shorting bars.

Landscapes

  • Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)
  • Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)

Claims (4)

  1. Connecteur constitué d'un boítier, de bornes, d'au moins une barrette de court-circuitage, d'au moins une nervure de désactivation, la barrette de court-circuitage comportant des première et deuxième pièces séparées de matériau conducteur, comprenant chacune des éléments de contact destinés à entrer au contact des bornes et à établir un court-circuit, caractérisé en ce que, les première et deuxième pièces (7, 8) sont essentiellement planes et comportent au moins deux éléments de contact (9, 10) qui se prolongent depuis une base commune et sont mutuellement séparés par une ouverture et qui sont coudés dans des directions opposées perpendiculairement au plan desdites pièces (7, 8) en formant ainsi deux jeux de ressorts en porte-à-faux, le premier jeu de ressorts (10) des première et deuxième pièces (7, 8) étant en contact avec les bornes (4, 5), le deuxième jeu de ressorts (9) étant mutuellement en contact dans une zone de contact « A » en vue d'établir un court-circuit lorsque la nervure de désactivation (11) occupe la position dégagée.
  2. Connecteur selon la revendication 1,
    caractérisé en ce que,
    les contacts (9) desdites pièces de matériau conducteur (7, 8) présentent une section transversale incurvée, avec une courbure plus prononcée au niveau des extrémités libres.
  3. Connecteur selon la revendication 1 ou 2,
    caractérisé en ce que,
    les contacts (9, 10) sont mutuellement séparés par une ouverture généralement en forme de U.
  4. Connecteur selon la revendication 1 ou 2,
    caractérisé en ce que,
    les éléments (9, 10) sont mutuellement séparés par une ouverture généralement en forme de N.
EP19970103005 1997-02-25 1997-02-25 Connecteur avec élément de court-circuit Expired - Lifetime EP0860898B1 (fr)

Priority Applications (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19970103005 EP0860898B1 (fr) 1997-02-25 1997-02-25 Connecteur avec élément de court-circuit
DE69723543T DE69723543T2 (de) 1997-02-25 1997-02-25 Verbinder mit Kurzschlusselement

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP19970103005 EP0860898B1 (fr) 1997-02-25 1997-02-25 Connecteur avec élément de court-circuit

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0860898A1 EP0860898A1 (fr) 1998-08-26
EP0860898B1 true EP0860898B1 (fr) 2003-07-16

Family

ID=8226519

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19970103005 Expired - Lifetime EP0860898B1 (fr) 1997-02-25 1997-02-25 Connecteur avec élément de court-circuit

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0860898B1 (fr)
DE (1) DE69723543T2 (fr)

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1825208A (en) * 1928-06-21 1931-09-29 William Edward Lauer Automatic disconnecting pothead
DE9010565U1 (de) * 1990-07-13 1990-09-20 Siemens AG, 8000 München Steckverbinder
DE9209900U1 (de) * 1992-07-23 1992-09-24 Pulsotronic Merten Gmbh & Co Kg, 5270 Gummersbach Elektrische Funktionseinheit für ein serielles Datenübertragungssystem
JP3075446B2 (ja) * 1992-12-07 2000-08-14 矢崎総業株式会社 多入力コネクタ

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE69723543T2 (de) 2004-06-09
DE69723543D1 (de) 2003-08-21
EP0860898A1 (fr) 1998-08-26

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