EP2211426A1 - Touch protection device for a plug pin - Google Patents

Abstract

The pin (1) has a rotationally symmetric head plate (21) with a concentric opening (22), and a flexible protective casing (23) connected with the head plate. The casing is transferred from a starting position to an end position and operated by pressing the head plate. The head plate and the protective casing are symmetrically formed around an operating axis (27) of a shock protection device (20), where the operating axis is identical to a plug direction (S) of the pin. An insulating cap (4) is arranged at a plug-lateral end of pin, and comprises a ring-shaped circulating groove (5).

Description

The invention relates to a Berührschutzvorrichtung for a connector pin according to the preamble of claim 1.

The invention therefore relates to a Berührschutzvorrichtung for a pin, in particular a pin or a socket of an electrical connector, which are accessible to touch.

In the prior art, the problem regularly arises that in electrical plugs, especially in unipolar electrical connectors, the problem arises that the pin or the socket (plug pin) are arranged in the connector housing, so that they are touched with a finger. This can, if the plug pin is under an electrical load, for example, an electrical voltage, lead to impairment of health and life. In order to avoid these dangerous conditions, there are different solutions in the prior art.

A common way to protect a pin against contact is the application of an insulating head at the end of the connector pin, so that not the connector pin itself is touchable, but only the electrically insulating portion which has been attached to the end of the connector pin.

An alternative and conceivable simple solution is the extension of the housing wall so far, a finger with usual finger length can not dive so deep into the connector that the end of the connector pin remains accessible.

This has the disadvantage that such connectors are either expensive to produce or require a large amount of space. Partly concrete connectors are required, the upper have an unkleinen space and thus for the purpose of contact protection measures mentioned above are not suitable. In addition, the application of an insulating head on the end of the plug is sometimes subject to further problems.

On the one hand, not every connector already on the market offers such a mounting point for attaching such a contact protection device and on the other hand, it may happen when removing the mating connector that the insulating head, so the shock protection device is unintentionally torn or separated from the connector pin and thus a dangerous condition is brought about. The variety of different contact pins is a problem.

The US 2,755,449 deals with an electrical connector which has improved insulation to prevent the connector from inadvertent short circuiting, with the entire length of the connector being surrounded by a flexible sleeve that can be reversibly compressed as the connector and mating connector mate , This shell also represents a form of contact protection.

In the US 3,683,315 there is disclosed an electrical socket connector having an electrically insulating housing and an electrical contact therein surrounded by a shielding sleeve around the contact. The shielding sleeve is arranged compressible along the plug axis and protects at least in a certain area the plug against accidental contact.

The DE 600 11 654 T2 discloses a male connector for wet environment, in particular an underwater connector having a protective sheath surrounding the connector, the sheath being secured by a first end secured to the front end portion and a rear end secured to the rear end of the male connector; has, wherein the sheaths have coaxial longitudinal axes and are formed of a material, although kinked in the longitudinal direction but are designed to be radially resilient, whereby this can be pushed together reversibly in the radial direction when mating the connector pairs.

The revelation PCT / EP2006 / 005337 also deals with an insulating environment of an electrical connection part, in this case an electrical connection part for connecting a jumper cable. This disclosure teaches to form an insulating cover in a tubular manner and to arrange it around a central axis of the connecting part so as to be movable around it.

The movable insulating cover thus protects against unwanted electrical contacts. The insulating cover is preferably formed mechanically stable as a one-piece tube or one-piece tube and consists in particular of a low-cost, electrically insulating plastic, for example, a rubber grommet.

To avoid the aforementioned disadvantages, the present invention has the object of providing an improved contact protection device for a connector pin, which can also be installed in connector systems already on the market without a contact protection device.

The present invention is therefore based on the additional object of providing a contact protection device of universal type.

Based on the cited prior art, therefore, the additional object is to provide a Berührschutzvorrichtung universal type, which can only be moved as intended and should have a double Berührschutzeffekt.

The present invention therefore makes use of a double impact protection effect in particular. On the one hand, a similar, as known from the prior art contact protection device is applied to the end of the connector pin. On the other hand, a second universally attachable to the connector pin, inventive Berührschutzvorrichtung around the entire connector pin around (in the electrically conductive region) is arranged.

According to a Berührschutzvorrichtung of a flexible protective sheath, preferably a Faltenbalk, so with a holding and connecting portion attached to the connector pin or the connector pin, that leaves a head plate of the Berührschutzvorrichtung, which is the end of the flexible sheath, with its opening along the connector pins move so that the mating connector can be plugged into the connector pin of said connector.

Due to the fact that the flexible protective sheath is arranged symmetrically and thus with symmetrical spring forces around the substantially symmetrical plug pin around and the head plate is symmetrical and meanwhile the said opening is arranged for the connector pin center, the shock protection device can only move as intended, if the Mating connector bestimmungemäß on the connector pin, that is pushed symmetrically to the plug axis and actuated in the further operation of the flexible protective sheath of Berührschutzvorrichtung.

At each actuation by a finger and thus as a result of uncontrollable contact of the top plate of the shock protection device by means of the finger, which is not symmetrical to the thru axle, which is always the case, since above the Berührschutzvorrichtung the insulating cap is and thus touching in the symmetry and thru-axle of the head plate is prevented, thus the head plate can only touch so that it is always carried out an asymmetrical movement. This means that if you touch the top plate with your finger, you touch them forcibly only one side, which constructionally produces an unbalanced state and tilt the top plate, but it can no longer press the flexible protective cover of the shock protection device and the entire top plate, but one This locks either in a designated groove or this is intended to hold on the outer jacket of the connector pins.

The contact protection device according to the invention thus has two operable states. A condition as intended, which occurs by intended contact and thus symmetrical contact with the mating connector (which can be pressed Berührschutzvorrichtung) and a security state, which prevents actuation of the contact protection device (by tilting the symmetrically constructed contact protection device).

The aforementioned object is thus achieved with the features of claim 1.

Advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

• Fig. 1 eine exemplarische Ansicht einer Trennwanddurchführung mit einem eingebrachten Steckerstift (ohne Berührschutzvorrichtung);
• Fig. 2 eine Schnittansicht durch ein erstes Ausführungsbeispiel einer erfindungsgemäßen Berührschutzvorrichtung mit einem Steckerpin.

Further advantages and expedient embodiments can be taken from the further claims, the description of the figures and the drawings. Show it:

• Fig. 1 an exemplary view of a partition passage with an inserted pin (without shock protection device);
• Fig. 2 a sectional view through a first embodiment of a Berührschutzvorrichtung invention with a connector pin.

The Fig. 1 shows a partition wall bushing, thus an electrical connector, in which a connector pin 1 is arranged in a housing 2 for the transmission of electrical energy. The plug pin 1 can be touched at both ends.

Like from the Fig. 1 can be seen, the housing 2 has two housing openings into which can be immersed with a finger and thus the connector pin 1 can come into electrical contact with the finger touch.

The Fig. 2 shows a detail of one end of a connector pin 1 at the plug-side end of a Isollerkappe 4 is applied with a circumferential groove 5. The plug pin 1 is shown as a substantially symmetrically formed cylindrical pin 1 pin. At the plug-side end of the plug pin 1 is the aforementioned Isollerkappe 4, which has substantially the same outer diameter as the connector pin 1. The insulating cap 4 has guide portions 7, which at the same time forms the lateral surface (outer wall) of the insulating cap 4. The plug-in axis S is formed by the center axis of the plug pin 1, which is also the central axis of the insulating cap 4. The connector pin 1 is arranged in a housing 2 made of electrically insulating material, which has a housing wall 3, which in the Fig. 2 is shown only by way of example. The housing wall 2 extends substantially in approximately up to the height of the electrically conductive end of the connector pin 1 or extends slightly beyond. The Isollerkappe 4 can optionally be arranged completely within the housing 2 or even project beyond the housing wall 3. However, it may be that the distance between the housing wall 3 and the outer jacket 6 of the connector pin 1 is sufficiently large that you could reach with a finger on the insulating cap 4 and thus in could get the space between pin and housing wall. For this, as in Fig. 2 can be seen, a Berührschutzvorrichtung 20 arranged.

The contact protection device 20 comprises a head plate 21 made of insulating material, in the center of which an opening 22 is provided, which corresponds essentially to the outer diameter of the plug pin 1. The opening has the same geometry as the outer geometry of the connector pin. The exemplary embodiment shown here is therefore a circular opening, that is to say a hole whose diameter corresponds approximately to the outer diameter of the plug pin 1. At the outer periphery, so the outer portion 26 of the top plate 21, a surrounding around the connector pin flexible protective jacket 23 is arranged, which preferably has resilient properties.

Advantageously, a resilient collapsible Faltenbalk is used for this purpose.

The Faltenbalk is circumferentially on the outer portion 26, so to speak ring-shaped, connected to the top plate 21. At the opposite end, so at the bottom in the Fig. 2 the flexible protective jacket 23 (Faltenbalk) is mechanically connected to a holding portion 25 on a connecting means 24 with the housing or alternatively with the introduced connector pin. This can be done with advantage by simple clamping connection, whereby a Berührschutzvorrichtung 20 according to the present invention can also be incorporated into already installed connector with the same existing task to produce a Berührschutzvorrichtung.

The Fig. 2 shows the state in which a corresponding mating connector in the direction S, so the axial direction of insertion of the connector pin can be brought into electrical connection with this, thus the intended initial state.

Not shown is the state in which the mating connector has been engaged with the plug. It shifts the in Fig. 2 shown, in the starting position, folding bellows 23 with its top plate 21 in the direction of the housing bottom and thus in the direction of the holding portions 25th

If, however, the head plate 21 is touched outside of the thru-axle with a finger or object, then it tilts at an angle α from the vertical to the thru-axle S and jams in the groove 5 and / or on the outer casing 6 of the connector pin 1.
Unintentional operation is therefore excluded.

As a result of the construction would theoretically symmetrical operation with the fingers or an object only in the center, so in the opening 22 of the top plate 21 in question, but in which the Isollerkappe 4 is arranged and thus a central actuation of the top plate 21 is thus prevented. In this way, it is concretely ensured that the electrically conductive outer jacket 6 of the connector pin is exposed by unintentional contact or actuation with the finger.

Alternative training with the same mode of action also fall under the inventive concept.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS Protection device for a connector pin

1

Electric plug pin

2

casing

3

housing wall

4

insulating

5

groove

6

Outer jacket of the connector pin

7

guide sections

20

touch guard

21

headstock

22

opening

23

flexible protective jacket

24

connecting means

25

holding portions

26

outer portion

27

operating axis

Claims (4)

An electrical plug pin (1) having a contact protection device (20) which comprises a rotationally symmetrical head plate (21) with a concentric opening (22) and a flexible, compressible, rotationally symmetrical protective jacket (23) connected to the top plate (21), which has a receiving space for the plug pin (1), the flexible protective jacket (23) being able to be flexibly and reversibly converted into a compressible end state by being pressed onto the top plate (21), and being able to carry both the top plate (21) and the protective jacket ( 23) substantially rotationally symmetrical about an actuating axis (27) of the Berührschutzvorrichtung (20) are formed and the actuating axis (27) is substantially identical to the plugging direction S of the plug pin (1) and wherein at the plug-side end of the plug pin (1) an insulating cap ( 4) is arranged, which has an annular circumferential groove (5) , An electrical connector pin (1) according to claim 1, wherein the flexible protective sheath (23) has at least one holding portion (25) and at least one connection means (24) connected to the holding portion (25) for connection to a pin (1). An electrical connector pin (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the flexible protective sheath (23) is a resilient folding beam. An electrical connector pin (1) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the annular groove (5) is in the region of the opening (22) of the top plate (21).

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