EP1849216A1

EP1849216A1 - Sealed connection device and sealed connector counterpart

Info

Publication number: EP1849216A1
Application number: EP06706506A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Frédéric CHAZOTTES; Christian Campfort
Original assignee: FCI SA; Framatome Connectors International SAS
Current assignee: FCI SA
Priority date: 2005-02-04
Filing date: 2006-01-31
Publication date: 2007-10-31
Also published as: FR2881888A1; US20090042429A1; CN101116229A; WO2006082016A1; JP2008529249A

Abstract

The invention concerns an electrical connecting device comprising: a connector (10) including electrical contacts (39), a connector counterpart (12) including complementary electrical contacts, designed to be coupled to the connector (10) along a coupling axis (X-X), a sealing ring type joint (68). The connector counterpart (12) comprises a support (40, 44) for said electrical contacts (62, 64) whereon the sealing joint (68) is fitted and a housing (42) for receiving at least one part of the support (40, 44), and the housing (42) and the connector (10) comprise each a peripheral support surface (92A, 92B) on first and second pads adjacent to said sealing joint (68). The invention also concerns a connector counterpart (12).

Description

Waterproof connection device and counterpart of sealed connector.

The present invention relates to a sealed connection device and a sealed connector counterpart, intended in particular for use in the field of the automotive industry.

In particular, the invention relates to a sealed connection device of the type comprising:

a connector having electrical contacts,

a connector counterpart intended to mate with the connector along a coupling axis, and comprising complementary electrical contacts designed to mate with the electrical contacts of the first connector, and

- an O-ring seal.

A device of this type has been shown in FIG. 1. It comprises a connector 1 intended to be coupled to a connector counterpart 2 along a coupling axis represented by an axis XX, in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 6. In the remainder of the description, the terms "axial" and "transverse" will be understood with respect to this axis XX. Similarly, the terms "outside" and

"Inner" means any part or surface positioned eccentrically or centrally, respectively, with respect to that X-X axis.

The connector 1 and connector counterpart 2 are each connected to one end of an electric cable (not shown) and support each of the own metal contacts to cooperate to connect the electric cables to each other.

In FIG. 1, the connector 1 is coupled to the connector counterpart 2. It comprises a body 3 of parallelepipedal general shape whose outer walls extend axially in the direction of the connector counterpart 2 to form a tulip 4.

The counterpart connector 2 comprises a base 6 of generally parallelepipedal shape which has an axial and central protrusion extending towards the connector 1 and forming a male connection element 7. This male connection element 7 is able to be introduced between the skirt 4, when the connector 1 and the connector counterpart 2 are coupled.

A housing 8, arranged on the outer faces of the male connection element 7, is adapted to receive a sleeve-shaped seal 9, hereinafter referred to as the "interfacial seal" description.

This interfacial seal 9 prevents the moisture from infiltrating the connector counterpart 2 and the connector 1 by contacting the seal on the one hand with the surfaces of the housing 8 of the male connection element and on the other hand with the inner faces of the skirt 4. Sealing is therefore ensured between the seal 9 and the connector counterpart 2, and between the seal 9 and the connector 1.

Nevertheless, this application requires a perfect quality of the contact surfaces between the interfacial seal 9 and the connector counterpart 2.

In particular, no burr or deformation is tolerated on the surfaces of the housing 8. The joint planes at these surfaces are therefore strongly discouraged and any contraction prohibited.

This solution, currently controlled for the molding of the skirt 4, of the connector, is extremely restrictive in terms of the design of the mold of the connector counterpart 2. Indeed, a specific molding process must be put in place in order to allow one-piece molding of the surfaces of the receiving housing 8 of the interfacial seal.

The object of the invention is to propose a sealing connection device that is easy to mold.

For this purpose, the invention relates to a connection device of the aforementioned type, characterized in that it comprises the connector counterpart comprises a support of said electrical contacts on which the seal is fitted and a home box at least a part of the support, and in that the housing and the connector each comprise a peripheral bearing surface on a first and a second adjacent beaches of the seal. According to particular embodiments, the device comprises one or more of the following characteristics:

the housing and the connector are adapted to exert a compression force on said first and second regions of the seal to form a continuous surface between said seal and, on the one hand, the connector and on the other hand the connector counterpart, said compression force being exerted perpendicular to said coupling axis;

the connector comprises a tulip which extends axially, said tulip comprising said peripheral bearing face; - A receiving housing of the seal is arranged in one or the other of the connector and the connector counterpart;

the housing comprises at least one stop for positioning the support relative to the housing, and the housing is formed in said support at a predefined distance from said stop, so that said peripheral bearing surface of the housing is supported on said first range of the seal;

said seal comprises at least two sealing lips formed protruding, one on said first pad and the other on said second pad of the seal, and the casing and the connector are adapted to carry said pad compression force on said sealing lips; a sealing lip formed on said first pad and a sealing lip formed on said second pad delimit a central zone of the seal, and the central zone of the seal is positioned at the right of a gap; water infiltration arranged between a face of the connector in contact with a face of the connector counterpart to form a sealed barrier;

said seal comprises two additional sealing lips formed, protruding, one on the first pad and the other on the second pad of the seal, on either side of the sealing lips. said additional lips delimiting two peripheral sealing zones which form two watertight safety barriers;

the housing comprises an axially extending skirt, said skirt being adapted to cooperate with said tulip of the first connector, and said skirt comprises fixing means and said tulip comprise complementary fastening means for fixing the connector to the connector counterpart ; and

- The support comprises a plurality of independent electrical modules adapted to be mounted in said housing. The invention also relates to a sealed connector counterpart for mating with a connector having electrical contacts, said connector counterpart comprising:

electrical contacts designed to mate with the electrical contacts of the first connector,

- An O-ring seal, characterized in that it comprises a support of said electrical contacts on which the seal is fitted and a housing housing at least a portion of the support, and in that the housing has a peripheral face bearing on a first range of the seal, and in that a second range of the seal is provided to be in contact with said connector.

The invention will be better understood on reading the description which follows, given solely by way of example and with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

- Figure 1 is a perspective view, in partial section along a transverse plane, of a sealed connection device, according to the state of the art;

- Figure 2 is a view similar to the view of Figure 1 of a first embodiment of the sealed connection device according to the invention;

- Figure 3 is a sectional view of a connector counterpart of the sealed connection device, according to the first embodiment;

- Figure 4 is a perspective view of a seal adapted to be mounted in the sealed connection device, illustrated in Figures 2 and 5; - Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view of Figures 1, 2 and 3; and

- Figure 6 is an exploded perspective view, with partial cutaway of a housing, a second embodiment of the sealed connection device according to the invention.

The sealed connection device according to the first embodiment of the invention is illustrated schematically in FIG.

This comprises a connector 10 and a connector counterpart 12 intended to match the connector 10. In FIG. 2, the connector counterpart 12 is paired with the connector 10. The connector 10 comprises a parallelepipedal body 14 having a face 16 adapted to mate with the connector counterpart 12, called "front face", a face 18 opposite the front face, called "back face" and axial walls 20, 22, 24. The axial walls 20, 22, 24 of the body 14 extend to form a tulip 26.

This tulip 26 constitutes a female cooperation element 30 designed to receive a male cooperation element 32 of the connector counterpart, as explained in the following description. The tulip 26 comprises fastening means 27 of the connector 10 to complementary fixing means 29 of the connector counterpart 12, as explained in the following description.

The connector 10 further comprises, on its front face 16, a positioning grid 37 and tabs 38 supporting resilient electrical contact blades 39 connected to electrical cables, not shown in FIG. 2.

The positioning grid 37, molded of plastic, makes it possible to adjust the positioning of the connector 10 with respect to the connector counterpart 12, during their coupling. The connector counterpart 12, shown in FIG. 3, comprises a support 40 of electrical contact elements and a housing 42 adapted to contain a part of the support 40.

The support 40 is constituted by a base 44 of elongated parallelepipedal shape, having four axial walls 45, 46, a front portion 48 forming the male connection element 32 intended to fit into the connector 26 of the tulip, and a part rear 50 opposite to the front part.

The base 44 carries a positioning grid 52, electrical cables 54, 56 mounted in axial orifices 58, 60 and pins 62, 64 electrically connected to the cables 54, 56. In a manner known per se, the positioning grid 52 is attached to the end of the front portion 48 of the support and is adapted to cooperate with the positioning grid 37 of the connector.

In a manner known per se, the pins 62, 64 are constituted by resilient electrical contact blades, adapted to come into contact with the blades electrical contact elastics 39, of complementary shape, fixed on the tabs 38 of the connector.

The base 44 has a groove 66 formed on the outer faces of these four walls 45, 46. This groove 66 constitutes a receiving housing an interfacial O-ring 68 made of elastomer, able to seal between the connector 10 and the connector counterpart 12.

According to the invention, a portion 67 of the groove 66 is formed in the rear portion 50 of the support which is introduced into the housing 42. The other portion 69 of the groove 66 is formed in the front portion 48 of the support which extends to the outside of the case. Preferably, each groove portion 67, 69 has a width which corresponds to half of the total width of the groove 66.

The interfacial seal 68, shown in FIG. 4, has the general shape of a sleeve whose face 71, referred to as the sealing face, is provided with four flanges 70, 72, 74, 76 that project radially, also called "lips sealing.

The interfacial seal 68 is fitted on the base 44 so that the sealing face 71 does not come into contact with the surface of the groove 66.

It is able to isolate the electrical contacts 62, 64 and the complementary electrical contacts 39, humidity and external pollution.

The housing 42 is in the general form of a parallelepipedal body 78 having a front face 80, a rear full wall 82 and four axial full walls 84, 86.

In the example of the invention shown in Figures 2 and 3, the housing 42 has on its front face 80, at the end of each of these four walls 84, 86, a transverse shoulder 88 which is extended axially by a skirt 90.

The shoulder 88 is arranged such that its inner surface constitutes a stop surface 91 for the end of the tulip 26, when the connector counterpart 12 is coupled to the connector 10.

The skirt 90 carries fixing means 29 provided to cooperate with the complementary fastening means 27 carried by the tulip 26 of the connector. These fixing means 29 are constituted by gluing means. Alternatively, the fastening means 29 and the complementary fastening means 27 are constituted by clamping means, clipping, elastic engagement, etc.

The rear full wall 82 of the housing comprises through holes 94 aligned with the orifices 58, 60 of the support and allowing the passage of the electrical cables 54, 56, and a receiving cavity of a grommet 95 (or grommet), mounted around the electrical cables 54, 56 for sealing between the cables 54, 56 and the body 78 of the housing.

The four axial walls 84, 86 of the housing form a casing having an opening on the front face 80 of the housing, provided to receive the rear portion 50 of the support.

The front portion 48 of the support which is not inserted into the housing 42, forms the male connection element 32, suitable for being introduced into the tulip 26. The internal faces of the walls 84, 86 of the housing comprise a flange

96 forming a stop for the rear portion 50 of the support. This flange 96 is disposed at a predefined distance from the shoulder 88, so that a peripheral inner face 92A of the walls 84, 86 bears on a first region 93A of the face 71 of the interfacial joint. In particular, the peripheral face 92A of the housing bears the two lips 74, 76 of the interfacial seal, located on the housing side.

The tulip 26 of the connector has a length such that its inner peripheral face 92B is adapted to bear on a second range 93B of the face 71 of the interfacial seal. In particular, the peripheral face 92B of the tulip bears on the other two lips 70, 72 of the interfacial seal, situated on the side of the connector 10.

A water infiltration gap 97, hereinafter referred to as "water infiltration gap" is defined between the stop surface 91 of the housing and the end of the connector bell 26. This space 97 is positioned facing a central zone 98 bounded by the two central lips 72, 74 of the interfacial seal.

As the two central lips 72, 74 are disposed on either side of the infiltration space 97, the central zone 98 and the lips 72, 74 form a water-proof sealing barrier. The two peripheral lips 70, 76 each delimit, with one of the two central lips 72, 74, two peripheral zones 100, 102. The peripheral zones 100, 102 and the lips 70, 72, 74, 76 form two watertight safety barriers. The bearing face 92B of the tulip 26 and the bearing surface 92A of the housing are adapted to exert on the lips 70, 72, 74, 76 a compressive force perpendicular to the coupling direction XX of the connector 10 to the counterpart connector 12.

For this purpose, the dimensions of the housing 42, the depth of the groove 66, the joint thickness 68 and the offsetting of the tulip 26, are determined so that the lips 70, 72, 74, 76 are compressed by the bearing faces 92A, 92B of the housing and of the tulip 26, to ensure a sealed continuity between, on the one hand, the gasket 68 and the housing 42, and on the other hand, between the gasket 68 and the connector 10. Accordingly, the gasket 68 perfectly and continuously matches the surfaces of the housing 42 and the tulip 26 even when they have irregularities related to a problem of molding parts.

Figure 5 shows a second embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the connector counterpart 112 differs from the connector counterpart 12 of the first embodiment essentially in that the carrier 40 comprises three independent electrical modules 112, 114, 116 adapted to be mounted in the housing 42.

The outer walls of each of these electrical modules 112, 114, 116 comprise a groove 66 capable of receiving the gasket 68. The housing 42 has on its inner face, a flange 96 forming a stop for the electrical modules 112, 114 , 116.

In a variant, the seal 68 comprises only two lips 72, 74 defining a single central sealing zone 98.

In a variant, the casing 42 does not have a skirt 90. In a variant, the casing 42 is mounted in one piece with the support

40.

Advantageously, the connection device according to the invention is easy to mount. Indeed, during assembly, the support 40 carrying the electric cables 54, 56, the seal 68 and the rear seal 95; is mounted in the housing 42. Then, the connector counterpart 12 is fixed to the connector 10.

Advantageously, the compressive force on the sealing lips 70, 72, 74, 76 of the gasket 68 is made in a plane perpendicular to the coupling axis X-X of the connector 10 and the connector counterpart. As a result, tolerances on parts are less critical.

Claims

A sealed electrical connection device comprising:

a connector (10) having electrical contacts (39),

a connector counterpart (12) intended to mate with the connector (10) along a coupling axis (XX), and comprising complementary electrical contacts (62, 64) intended to mate with the electrical contacts (39) the first connector (10),

- an O-ring seal (68), characterized in that the connector counterpart (12) comprises a support (40, 44) of said electrical contacts (62, 64) on which the seal (68) is fitted and a housing (42) for receiving at least a portion of the support (40, 44), and in that the housing (42) and the connector (10) each have a peripheral bearing surface (92A, 92B ) on a first (93A) and a second (93B) adjacent pads of the seal (68).

2. Connection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (42) and the connector (10) are adapted to exert a compressive force on said first (93A) and second (93B) ranges of the seal (68) to form a continuous surface between said seal (68) and the connector (10) and the connector counterpart (12), said compression force being exerted perpendicularly to said connector coupling pin (XX).

3. Connection device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the connector (10) comprises a tulip (26) which extends axially, said tulip (26) having said peripheral bearing surface ( 92B).

4. Connection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a housing (66) for receiving the seal (68) is arranged in one or the other of the connector (10). ) and the connector counterpart (12).

5. Connection device according to claim 4, characterized in that the housing (42) comprises at least one stop (96) for positioning the support (40, 44) relative to the housing (42), and in that the housing (66) is formed in said support (40, 44) at a predefined distance from said stop (96), so that C ladite said peripheral bearing surface (92A) of the housing (42) is supported on said first range (93A) of the seal (68).

6. Connection device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that said seal (68) comprises at least two sealing lips (72, 74) formed in projection, one on said first (93A) range and the other on said second range (93B) of the seal (68), and in that the housing (42) and the connector (10) are adapted to exert said compressive force on said sealing lips (72, 74).

Connecting device according to claim 6, characterized in that a sealing lip (74) formed on said first pad (93A) and a sealing lip (72) formed on said second pad (93B) define a central region (98) of the gasket (68), and in that the central zone (98) of the gasket (68) is positioned in line with a water infiltration space (97) arranged between one face of the connector (10) in contact with a face (91) of the connector counterpart (12) to form a sealed barrier.

8. Connection device according to any one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that said seal (68) comprises two additional sealing lips (70, 76) formed, projecting, one on the first range (93A) and the other on the second range (93B) of the seal (68), on either side of the sealing lips (72, 74), said additional lips (70, 76). defining two peripheral sealing zones (100, 102) which form two watertight safety barriers.

9. Connection device according to any one of claims 3 to 8, characterized in that the housing (42) comprises an skirt (90) extending axially, said skirt (90) being adapted to cooperate with said tulip (26). ) of the first connector (10), and in that said skirt (90) comprises fixing means (27) and said tulip (26) comprise complementary fixing means (29) for fixing the connector (10) to the counterpart connector (12).

10. Connection device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the carrier (40, 44) comprises a plurality of independent electrical modules (112, 114, 116) adapted to be mounted in said housing (42).

A sealed connector counterpart (12) for mating with a connector (10) having electrical contacts (39), said connector counterpart (12) comprising:

- electrical contacts (62, 64) for coupling to the electrical contacts (39) of the first connector (10),

- an O-ring seal (68), characterized in that it comprises a support (40, 44) of said electrical contacts (62, 64) on which the seal (68) is fitted and a housing (42). ) receiving at least a portion of the support (40, 44), and in that the housing (42) has a peripheral face (92A) resting on a first range (93A) of the seal (68). ), and in that a second range (93B) of the seal (68) is provided to be in contact with said connector (10).