EP2249439B1 - Connector for photovoltaic systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to the above-claimed and thus relates to connectors for photovoltaic systems.

Photovoltaic systems comprise a large number of individual solar cell modules in order to generate photovoltaic energy. The connectors required for connecting the photovoltaic modules are exposed to the weather over a long period of time and thus to both temperature changes and moisture. Nevertheless, they must transport high currents largely lossless and should be inexpensive to produce.

In order to achieve a high durability of the plug connections of photovoltaic systems, the contacts must be protected on the one hand against penetrating moisture, both humidity and precipitation, and there must be a sufficient relief against train or caused by wind vibrations. Plugs for photovoltaic systems therefore typically have a strain relief and sealant.

In a known connector for photovoltaic systems, a sealing and strain relief means is formed by a two-component component which has a hard, against a cable insulation pressing ring for strain relief, to which a more elastic sealing element is formed.

In the publication US 3,667,783 a plug for connecting electrical conductors is known, which with one with several with each other provided connected and mutually movable segments having strain relief and realized as a separate component sealant is provided. In the mounted state of the plug, the sealant) is urged by the strain relief in the sealing position. The segments are connected to each other via film elements. The disadvantage here is that the segments engage approximately pointed in the cable.

From the DE 10 2008 045 801 A1 a plug is preferably known for outdoor use of solar systems, wherein the plug has a contact carrier, in which a contact pin is arranged and .befestigt, wherein the contact carrier end receives a cable sealing ring with a strain relief claw, the strain relief claw interacts with a pressure screw to train and decoupling compressive forces acting on a cable from the contact pin. Similarly, a suitable box may be formed.

From the DE 10 2006 043 575 B3 is a solar connector with a cable adapter for adaptation to cables of different diameters known. As parts of the provided strain relief a cable sheath seal and a clamping cage and an associated pressure screw are specified.

From the DE-OS 21 33 814 there is known a fluid-tight, stress-free connector in which a conductor clamping device has segments which are interconnected by corrugated webs to allow the segments to contract around the conductor as the connector is assembled and to move away from the conductor. when the connector is taken apart.

From the DE-AS 26 14 210 is an electrical connector made of sheet metal with a sleeve-shaped receiving part, a sleeve-shaped soldering head and with an integrally connected to the receiving part and the receiving part final partition known, wherein a connecting tab between the front edge of the soldering head and the separating bottom is provided.

Not only is the manufacture of such strain relief sealants expensive, but it is also necessary to separately adjust the strain relief and sealant for each cable diameter. This adds to the cost of manufacturing due to the need for more expensive stock keeping in addition.

It is desirable to provide a connector for photovoltaic systems, which has both permanently good technical properties and allows a cost-effective connector.

The object of the invention is to provide the production of Zugentlastungs- and sealing means for each cable diameter, wherein the clamping ring is to have a plurality of interconnected segments, which are movable against each other for clamping operation and in particular can be moved radially inward toward each other, so not in the manner of a claw lead to punctual heavy loads. For this purpose, it is particularly preferred if the segments of the clamping ring are movable over film elements, i. Thin plastic strips, which are readily movable and highly flexible, are connected to one another in such a way that torsion about the connecting film elements is at least largely, preferably completely. Such film elements can be readily prepared by injection molding.

The jaws will generally be V-shaped radially inwardly and will have, in particular, one or more circumferentially extending ribs. In this way, a greater deformation of the plastic insulation of the cable over a larger area can be achieved and thus by the rib / n a particularly high pull-out force and thus particularly effective strain relief can be achieved.

The solution to this problem is claimed in an independent form. Preferred embodiments can be found in the subclaims.

The present invention thus proposes, in a first basic idea, a plug for photovoltaic systems with a strain relief means and a sealant. It is provided that the sealing means and the strain relief means realized by separate components and the sealant is urged in the assembled connector from the strain relief in the sealing position.

A first essential finding is therefore that plugs can be made particularly cost-effective by separating the strain relief and the sealant by suitable shaping without affecting the function. As a connector for photovoltaic systems are on the one hand understood in particular those plugs with which modules can be connected to each other, and on the other hand plug, with which photovoltaic modules can be connected to manifolds or manifolds with each other or to other devices, such as voltage transformers.

In a preferred embodiment, the strain relief comprises a clamping ring which cuts or is pressed into the cable for strain relief. Both are understood in the same way in the present case, unless something else results directly from the context of meaning. It is also assumed that already then the cable is cut when an intrusion or a Deformation of the cable sheath, that is, the insulating plastic sheath of the cable takes place. This results in both a force and a positive connection with the cable for the clamping ring.

According to the invention, the clamping ring has a plurality of segments connected to one another, which are movable relative to one another for clamping operation and, in particular, can be moved radially inward toward one another, ie not lead to punctiform heavy loads in the manner of a claw. For this purpose, it is particularly preferred if the segments of the clamping ring are connected to one another via film elements, that is to say strips of thin plastic which are readily movable and highly flexible, in such a way that torsion about the connecting film elements is at least largely avoided , Such film elements can be readily produced by injection molding.

The jaws will generally tap into a V-shape radially inwardly and, in particular, will have one or more circumferentially extending ribs (s). In this way, a greater deformation of the plastic insulation of the cable over a larger area can be achieved and thus a particularly high pull-out force and thus particularly effective strain relief can be achieved by the rib.

The individual segments are typically pressed against each other by a nut, through which the clamping ring is driven to the contact end. For this purpose, the nut will be movable on an external thread on the plug housing and will have a pressing shoulder extending into the opening of the plug, which is pressed onto the clamping ring, in order to drive this on rotation of the nut on the thread to the front.

The propulsion of the nut will typically be limited to prevent damage to the connector or its parts by over-tightening the nut.

The sealing means is preferably formed as an elastic ring which can be pressed against the cable. Even when using cables with different diameters, the size differences between the individual cables are generally not so great that a seal would no longer be guaranteed. Rather, it can be ensured by choosing the elasticity that all contact between sealant, cable and housing is given and thus penetration of moisture to the contact area of the cable side is avoided.

In the plug interior, a taper can be provided along which the sealant can lead to the cable insulation when it is - driven by the strain relief - forward. In this way, there is a limited to a narrow zone isolation, which is particularly good.

In a preferred variant, the sealing means and the strain relief means each have a passage opening which is sufficient for a cable, on which a contact part has already been struck, to pass. In this way, first a cable - after appropriate stripping - be struck on a contact part, such as a pin to penetrate into a hollow bushing, or on a hollow bushing itself; only after this assembly step the cable is then inserted with the contact part in the connector body. This facilitates the assembly considerably, since only the contact element is to handle when striking the contact element on the cable. The striking can be done in a conventional manner, for example by crimping, but possibly also by soldering, screwing or the like. The different mounting options also allow to perform a repair on a roof or the like.

A particular advantage of the present connector assembly is that the contact region of the male as well as the female connector can be formed so as to be compatible with existing connector systems.

In a particularly preferred variant, the sealing means and / or the strain relief means are held captive in the connector housing. This is of particular advantage when the sealing means and the strain relief means are dimensioned so that a cable can be passed with hinged contact part. In this case, a prefabricated housing can be used in the connector mounting, which itself does not have to be laboriously mounted. This further reduces the price of the plug.

The sealant will typically seal against ingress of moisture and moisture.

In another variant of the invention, the strain relief may be formed by the cable-enclosing molding compound. The sealing means is then formed by a sealing body which is movable in the cavity of the contact part and can prevent too far penetration of the molding material. This variant can be regarded as advantageous on its own or in combination with the embodiments described above.

It should be noted that a plug can be provided both with a clamping ring and with a sealing body, which prevents the penetration of molding material mass in a contact area. Although the molding compound, which may be, for example, MAKROMELT, will typically also relieve strain, it is nevertheless possible to inject any sealing elements present if storage costs etc. are of importance and only a single system is to be kept in stock.

It should be mentioned that it is particularly advantageous if both the male and the female plug are designed according to the invention, wherein the plug in a preferred variant can be latched to each other, for example, provided on one of males or females latch hooks on the associated mating connector in penetrate an opening and lock it there. Depending on the needs of the user, the latching can be made either finger-releasable, for example by placing the latching hooks in a fingertip penetrable window and releasable by finger pressure, or they can only be tool releasable to prevent end user intervention.

It should be noted that the handle body can be provided with ribs, on the one hand ensure good accessibility of the connector housing even under unfavorable weather conditions and on the other hand, a nearly uniform wall thickness and thus to ensure improved behavior during injection molding.

Fig. 1

eine Steckeranordnung gemäß der vorlie- genden Erfindung mit einem erfindungsge- mäßen Steckermännchen (links) und einem erfindungsgemäßen Steckerweibchen (rechts),

Fig. 2

eine Detailansicht des Schnitts von Fig. 1,

Fig. 3

das Steckermännchen der Erfindung in grö- ßerem Detail,

Fig. 4

ein Klemmring,

Fig. 5

eine zur Verschraubung des Zugentlas- tungsmittels vorgesehene Mutter,

Fig. 6

das Steckergehäuse von Fig. 3 ohne Kon- taktelemente, Zugentlastungsmittel und ohne Dichtmittel.

The invention will be described below by way of example with reference to the drawing. In this is represented by

Fig. 1

A plug arrangement according to the present invention with a connector plug according to the invention (left) and a plug connector according to the invention (right),

Fig. 2

a detailed view of the section of Fig. 1 .

Fig. 3

the connector of the invention in more detail,

Fig. 4

a clamping ring,

Fig. 5

a nut provided for screwing the tension relief means,

Fig. 6

the connector housing of Fig. 3 without contact elements, strain relief and without sealant.

To Fig. 1 comprises a plug assembly having a male connector, generally designated 1, and a female connector, generally designated 1a, strain relief means 2 and sealing means 3 which are separated from each other, the sealing means 3 in the assembled plug being removed from the strain relief means 2 into a sealing position against a cable (not shown).

The plug 1 has a plug body 4, which is formed with a plurality of ribs 5 in the region of the contact zone 6.

The plug body 4 holds a cable to which a hollow pin 7, or a hollow bushing 7a in the female plug 1a, is struck, in a contact position. The plug body 4 or, for the female plug, 4a, are provided with a pair of locking elements 8, 8a, wherein in the illustrated embodiment, a latching hook passes through a passage opening 8b and the hook projection 8c pulling apart without pressure on the latching hook radially inward, indicated by arrow 9, prevented. The latching hook 8a is located in front of a window 8d, which, depending on the dimensioning and user request, is designed to allow the latching hooks to be pressed in radially inwards by fingertips or tools.

The plug handle body 4 and 4a are made of sufficiently weatherproof and thus not embrittling plastic material, such as glass fiber reinforced plastic.

From the cable insertion side A (see Fig. 6 ) to the contact side B, a clear opening provided in the plug body tapers successively, whereby a region 10 for strain relief and sealing means 11, a region for the Crimpflügel approach to the contact element 7 or 7a, a Auflagerungsbereich 12, a centering region 13 and a contact region with the actual contact zone 6 are defined.

The strain relief is detailed in Fig. 4 shown. It is made of plastic that is harder than the typically soft insulation of the cable to be used with the plug. The strain relief 2 here has three segments 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, which are each the same size and Thinner, film-like segments 2a1, 2b1, 2c1 are connected to each other, so that there is a generally annular arrangement. The film-like segments 2a1, 2b1, 2c1 are connected along a connecting line to the thicker segments 2a, 2b, 2c, so that they can not twist against each other, but a generally radial movement of the thicker segments is achieved on the cable at the clamping. As in Fig. 4a can be seen, the segments are beveled on its radial outer side, compare edges 2a2, 2a3, wherein between the edges 2a2, 2a3 a flat ridge 2a4 is formed. On its radially inward-facing surface, which is generally straight, a rib 2a5 rises approximately in the center.

The plug body 1 has in the Zugentlastungsdichtmittelbereich 10 a groove 10a, in which the ridge 2a4 can be positioned to prevent falling out of the strain relief from the plug body by vibrations before installation. The depth of the groove and the width of the ridge are matched accordingly. The symmetry of the strain relief means 2 around the plane defined by the groove 2a5 allows the strain relief means to be inserted into the plug body 10 without regard to an inside or outside.

The end faces 2a6 of the strain relief 2 are formed flat. They have a width sufficient to exert sufficient force against the clamping ring 3 without excessively locally deforming it when the strain relief means, as will be described, is propelled by unscrewing a threaded nut 14 on the outside of a plug housing.

The nut 14 is movable on an external thread of the plug housing and has a pressing shoulder 15 penetrating into the clear opening of the plug body 1, which has an inner contour 14a whose inclination is adapted to the inclined surface 2a2 or 2a4 of the strain relief. The oblique inclination of the surfaces 14a and 2a2 (or, depending on the orientation of the strain relief 2a3) is such that upon screwing the nut, the segments 2a, 2b, 2c of the strain relief 2 are moved radially inwardly from the groove 10a, wherein the film segments 2a1 , 2b1, 2c1 become more curved. At the same time, the sealant is driven forward, whereby a uniform propulsion is achieved by the flat support of Zugentlastungsmittelstirnfläche on the sealant ring. The nut can be driven so far that the rib 2a5 penetrates sufficiently deep into the cable insulation of a cable to be fixed.

It should be noted that the segments 2a, 2b, 2c are designed to be identical to each other, the corresponding reference numerals, however, only for the segment 2a in Fig. 4b are indicated for the sake of clarity. It should also be noted that, instead of a single cutting rib 2a5, a plurality of corresponding ribs may be provided.

The sealant 3 is formed of an elastic material, generally cylindrical. The wall thickness of the sealant 3 is such that the surface 2a6 of the strain relief means has a sufficiently large contact surface with the sealant 3 when driving the strain relief means in the direction of the contact region 6, cf. reference numeral 15 in FIG Fig. 3 ,

The strain relief-sealant portion 10 has at its end facing the contact region on a generally arcuately inwardly tapering contour 10b along which the annular sealant body 3 can be pressed into abutment against a passing cable. The flexibility of the sealing ring 3 ensures that a complete seal is guaranteed even with different cable diameters.

The plug of the present invention has for receiving a cable here connected by crimping Crimflügeln with a cable hollow pin 7, which is secured by locking elements 16 after insertion into the plug body 4 against pulling out. The area on the crimped blades which is also more voluminous after crimping is received in the cavity 11. In that regard, the plug is conventional. However, the hollow pin 7 or the hollow bush 7 a additionally have in their interior a movable body 17 which, independently of the design of the area 10 with the sealing means 2 and 3, is considered to be separately inventive. The body 17 is along the direction of the axis AB (see FIG Fig. 6 ), up to a limited by embossing the stamped and folded contact elements 7 and 7a stop 18 so that it is trapped on both sides. The sealing body 17 formed here from plastic has such a mobility that it of the molding material, which from the side "A" (see Fig. 6 ) is ingested during encapsulation of an imported cable molding compound forward in the direction of the contact area 6, to the stop 18, where it is pressed into a sealing position and prevents further penetration of molding material. Of the Shaped body 17 may be formed from sufficiently flexible plastic material. Due to the comparatively large mass and thus typically associated large heat capacity and comparatively hot molding material cools quickly and solidifies, which further improves the seal. In this way, a deterioration of the contact area 6 is avoided when encapsulating the plug.

• Zunächst wird das Kontaktelement 7 beziehungsweise 7a an einem Kabelende angeschlagen. Dann wird das Kontaktelement 7 in den bereits ein Zugentlastungsmittel 2, ein Dichtmittel 3 und die Mutter 14 tragenden Steckergriffkörper eingeschoben und durch Verrasten der Rastelemente 16 am Steckergriffkörper gegen Herausziehen vorläufig gesichert. Durch die Verjüngung im Zentrierbereich 13 wird dabei die korrekte Lage des Kontaktstiftes sichergestellt.

Unless used for overmolding, the plug is inserted as follows:

• First, the contact element 7 or 7a is struck at a cable end. Then, the contact element 7 is inserted into the already a strain relief 2, a sealant 3 and the nut 14-carrying plug handle body and provisionally secured by locking the locking elements 16 on the connector handle against pulling out. By the taper in the centering 13 while the correct position of the contact pin is ensured.

Now the nut 14 is tightened, whereby the strain relief means to the front, ie from direction A to direction B in Fig. 6 crowded. At the same time, the inclined surface 14a of the pressing shoulder slides on the inclined surface 2a2, which continues until the strain relief means 2 rests with the end face 2a6 on the projection 14b. (It should also be noted that the mother in Fig. 5 plausibly, as if Fig. 3 to recognize, in opposite directions oriented in use.) By driving the strain relief and the Aufgleitbewegung the pressing shoulder on the sealing ring on the one hand, the segments 2 a, 2 b, 2 c moved radially inward, whereby the groove 2 a5 in the insulation of the cable is pressed and thus the cable firmly against pulling out secures. At the same time but also the sealant 3 is pushed in a controlled manner along the curvature 10b on the cable or its insulation towards and seals it against the ingress of humidity and moisture. After placing the nut 14 with the projection 14b on the end face 2a6 the Nachinnenbewegung the strain relief is terminated and possibly only, depending on a further rotation of the nut 14, the sealant driven forward. Once this is done, the plug is ready to connect.

It should be noted that the sealing body 17 is movable with only a small clearance in the hollow contact element 7 or 7a.

It should be noted that the plug can also be used for purposes other than photovoltaic systems, as described above. The disclosure is therefore not limited to these, notwithstanding their broad reference to the particularly important photovoltaic application.

Claims (9)

1. Connector, in particular for photovoltaic installations, with a segmented press relief means (2) and a sealing means (3), realized as thereof separate assembly part, which is urged to the sealing position by the press relief means (2) in the mounted connector, whereby the press relief means (2) is provided with several segments (2a, 2b, 2c) connected one to each other and moveable one against the other for the engaging into the cable, whereby the segments (2a, 2b, 2c) are connected one with each other by film elements (2a1, 2b1, 2c1), characterised in that the segments (2a, 2b, 2c) build a clamping ring, which is cutting into the cable, and the press relief means (2) is shaped with a front face of the clamping ring thus for the forward press of the sealing means (3).
2. Connector according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the segments (2a, 2b, 2c) are formed by jaws with a rip cutting into a cable insulation.
3. Connector according to the preceding claim, characterised in that it includes a nut (14), which is forcing the clamping ring by compressing the jaws.
4. Connector according to the preceding claim, characterised in that the forcing of the nut (14) is limited, in particular by a stop shoulder.
5. Connector according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the sealing means (3) is formed as elastically ring, which is pressable against the cable.
6. Connector according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the connector housing having a taper inwardly, along which the sealing means (3) can be glided to the cable insulation.
7. Connector according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the sealing means (3) and the press relief means (2) each having a through-hole, which is dimensioned for a passing-through of a cable striking against a contact part.
8. Connector according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the sealing means (3) and/or the press relief means (2) is hold in the connector housing undetachably before the mounting.
9. Connector according to anyone of the preceding claims, characterised in that the sealing means (3) is shaped for a sealing against infiltrating moisture.

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