EP2702646B1

EP2702646B1 - Connector assembly and connection system using same

Info

Publication number: EP2702646B1
Application number: EP11805938.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jean Fabre; Dominique Rozet; Frédéric MENEZ; Erwan Guillanton
Original assignee: Delphi International Operations Luxembourg SARL
Current assignee: Delphi International Operations Luxembourg SARL
Priority date: 2010-10-29
Filing date: 2011-10-26
Publication date: 2016-12-14
Anticipated expiration: 2031-10-26
Also published as: EP2702646A1; KR101832538B1; JP2013545232A; JP5932813B2; CN103262359B; CN103262359A; KR20130103563A; WO2012056325A1

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to connector assemblies.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An electrical control device is usually connected to a wiring harness thanks to one or several electrical connectors. In order to enable this electrical connection, it is common to provide a connector assembly (also called socket) on the housing of said electrical control device.
Further, the signals and power supplies going through such connector may be subject to electromagnetic interference (also called 'EMI') or may themselves generate disturbances. It is thus beneficial to shield the signals and power supplies going through such connector in order to increase the immunity against incoming interferences and to decrease the levels of generated disturbances. Such provisions are also referred to as 'EMC' or Electromagnetic Compatibility.
EP 1164664 shows a Connector assembly according to the preamble of claim 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to improve the shielding of connector assemblies.
According to the invention, it is provided a connector assembly according to claim 1, adapted to be fastened to a mounting support, for instance an electrical control device, and adapted to receive a mating counterpart belonging to a wiring harness.
The connector assembly comprises a connector foot portion, adapted to be fastened to a housing of the electrical control device thanks to fastening devices.
The connector foot portion comprises a base metal shield plate.
According to the invention, the shield plate is made of any material which conducts electricity such as copper alloy, tin, or aluminium alloy which are classed among different categories (or series) according to the main alloying element.
Moreover, since such a connector assembly may be exposed to external environment, different kind of corrosion may appear (such as pitting corrosion or surface corrosion) and thus may affect the functions of the connector assembly. Therefore, it would be interesting to provide a connector assembly which is able also to resist in wet and corrosive environment while exhibiting good shielding properties.
That is why, according to an embodiment, the metal shield plate is made of an aluminium alloy of 1XXX series such as 1100, 1080, 1050, 1060, 1070 or 1010. In fact, said specific 1XXX series of aluminium alloy presents anti-corrosive and shielding properties which are adapted for such a use.
According to a preferred embodiment, the metal shield plate is made of aluminium alloy 1050.
Classification of aluminium alloys is established by The International Alloy Designation System (IADS) and is well known to the person skilled in the art.
According to the IADS, an aluminium alloy of 1XXX series contains at least 99% of aluminium. The second digit indicates modifications to alloy or impurity limit and the two last digits indicate the purity of the alloy. For example, an aluminium alloy 1070 means that it contains a minimum of 99.70% of aluminium, an aluminium alloy 1050 means that it contains a minimum of 99.50% of aluminium and an aluminium alloy 1100 means that it contains a minimum of 99.00% of aluminium.
The connector also comprises a body portion extending away from the connector foot portion outwardly relative to the mounting support.
In a preferred embodiment ,the connector body portion has a body shield member which is in electrical contact with said metal shield plate. Further the metal shield plate is in electrical continuity with said fastening devices.
Thanks to these dispositions, the electrical continuity is ensured between the fastening devices and the body shield member whenever the connector assembly is fastened to the mounting support. Further the fastening devices are in electrical contact with the mounting support, thus establishing a complete electrical continuity between the body shield member of the connector assembly and the mounting support.
In some other embodiments, one might also use one or more of the features as defined in the dependent claims.
According to another aspect, the invention is also directed to connection systems comprising a connector assembly as described above, fastening devices, and a mounting support. Further the fastening devices are adapted to fasten the connector assembly on the mounting support, whereby the fastening devices are in electrical contact with the mounting support.
According to another aspect, the invention is also directed to an assembly method for fastening a connector assembly as described above to a mounting support, the method comprises the steps of:

mounting the metal shield plate on the connector foot portion,
inserting metallic inserts into holes,
fastening the connector assembly thanks to fastening devices.

As a result, the shield member is in electrical contact with said metal shield plate and the metal shield plate is in electrical continuity with said fastening devices. Further, the fastening devices are in electrical continuity with the mounting support.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the invention appear from the following detailed description of one of its embodiments, given by way of non-limiting example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:

Figure 1a and 1b are general views of the connector assembly according to the invention,
Figure 2 is a sectional view of the connector assembly of Figure 1,
Figure 3 is a detailed enlarged view of a section of the foot portion.

MORE DETAILLED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the figures, the same references denote identical or similar elements.
Figure 1a and Figure 1b show a connector assembly 10 according to the invention, comprising :

a connector foot portion 1, having a substantially rectangular general shape, with a bottom surface 15 and a top surface 16, said connector foot portion 1 comprising a base metal shield plate 3, adapted to be placed adjacent to the bottom surface 15 as depicted in Fig. 1b,
a connector body portion 2, extending from the top surface 16 of the connector foot portion, said connector body portion having a substantially cylindrical general shape.

The connector foot portion 1 and the connector body portion 2 may be formed as a plastic part, preferably made as an integral plastic molded part.
In the illustrated example, the connector body portion 2 has an oval shape with an external surface 25 and an internal surface 26 (see Fig. 2). A body shield member 22 is placed adjacent to the internal surface 26, said body shield member 22 being formed as a thin metallic sheet extending from a base portion 22a to a top portion 22b. The base portion 22a is adjacent to the bottom surface 15 of the connector foot portion 1.
Inwardly relative to the body shield member 22, a hollow portion 80 is provided, in which wires and terminals can take place. In the illustrated example, two power connexions 81,82 and two signals connexions 83,84 are installed in the hollow portion 80 (see also Fig. 1b). Of course other connexion configurations are also possible.
A mating connector belonging to a wiring harness can be connected to the connector assembly 10 along a mating axis X, from the left hand side on Fig. 1a and 1b.
Said body shield member 22 has elastic lugs 23 extending slantwise outwardly away from said base portion 22a. In the depicted example, elastic lugs 23 are disposed all around the base portion 22a. Said elastic lugs 23 bear on said base metal shield plate 3 for establishing an electrical contact between said body shield member 22 and said metal shield plate 3.
As visible on the Figure 2, the connector foot portion 1 is adapted to be fastened to a mounting support such as a housing 6 of an electrical control device thanks to fastening means. Said electrical control device has electrical interfaces with for example sensors and actuators, and with power supply through electrical connector assemblies like the considered depicted connector assembly 10. The connector foot portion can also be fastened directly onto a car frame portion or a an engine portion rather than onto an electrical control device.
Said housing 6 encloses a control unit and is adapted to mechanically and electromagnetically protect said control unit. Said housing 6 comprises recesses 60 adapted to receive fastening devices 5. In the illustrated example, the fastening devices are screws 50, and the counterpart are said threaded holes 60, but other fastening devices are encompassed in the scope of the present invention like riveting, press fitting or other means.
At least around threaded holes 60, housing 6 is partially metallic, whereby the fastening devices 5, when fastened to the housing, are in permanent electrical contact with said housing 6.
On the connector foot portion 1, there is provided at least a hole 14 receiving said fastening devices 5. In the depicted example, there are provided four holes 14 distributed at the four corners of the foot portion 1.
Further, a metallic insert 4 is inserted in each hole 14. Each metallic insert 4 is in electrical contact with both the metal shield plate 3 and with the fastening devices 5 as it will be explained in details later on.
Turning to the base metal shield plate 3, the base metal shield plate 3 is made from a thin metallic sheet having a substantially rectangular shape similar to the rectangular shape of the foot portion 1, disposed parallel to a interface plane P which is perpendicular to the mating axis X.
The base metal shield plate 3 comprises a central opening 30 for the passage of electrical connections and holes 44 (at least one hole, four holes in the example) coaxially located relative to the holes 14 of the connector foot portion 1, the edge of each hole 44 comprising at least a slant elastic projection 33 extending toward the foot portion 1, and adapted to bear on the metallic insert 4. Further, the base metal shield plate 3 comprises four clips 32 (see Fig. 1a) engaging into corresponding recesses 18 provided in the connector foot portion. Clips 32 are extending substantially perpendicularly from the surface of the shield plate 3. Preferably, clips 32 have a pine tree shape in order to be retained once inserted into the recesses 18, whereby the metal shield plate 3 is firmly retained on the foot portion 1 prior to fastening with the fastening device 5, as illustrated in Fig 1b.
As a result of the above described assembly fastened on the housing 6, a permanent electrical contact is established between the housing 6 and the body shield member 22, via the metal shield plate 3 and the metallic insert 4. Therefore, advantageously according to the invention, there is provided a shielding continuity between the housing 6 and the connector body portion 2, hence ensuring an improved electromagnetic protection, both for the control unit itself and for the electromagnetic environment. This enables the outer surface of the housing 6 to be provided with any kind of suitable treatment such as painting, corrosion protection, or the like, which may be electrically insulating.
Turning now to Figure 3, the fastening device is exemplified by a screw 50 having a head 52, a bearing collar 51, a body 53 fitted with a male thread 54 received in the female thread 60 of the housing 6. The metallic insert 4 comprises a bottom section 41 bearing on the elastic projections 33 and a top section 42 bearing on the collar 51 of the screw.
The external surface of the metallic insert is adjacent to the internal surface of the hole 14. On the top area of the hole 14 is provided a border 17, protruding relative to the top edge 42b of the top section 42, along the mating axis X.
A local cutaway on the left side of the screw on Figure 3 shows the border 17 before screwing, whereas on the right side it is shown after screwing.
As a result, when the screw 50 is screwed, the border 17 is reached first by the collar 51, and is subsequently compressed down to a level which is defined by the top edge 42b of the top section 42 of the metallic insert 4.
Consequently, the compressed portion, being at least partially elastically deformed, acts as a brake for the screw 50 in order to avoid a loosening of the screw 50.
The invention is also directed to an assembly method for assembling a connector assembly 10 as described above to a housing 6, this method comprising the steps of:

mounting the metal shield plate 3 on the connector foot portion 1, the metal shield plate 3 being retained in position by the clips 32 as above described,
inserting metallic inserts 4 into holes 14,
fastening the connector assembly thanks to fastening devices 5.

As a result, the body shield member 22 is in permanent electrical contact with the metal shield plate 3 and the metal shield plate 3 is in permanent electrical continuity with the fastening devices 5, and the fastening devices are in permanent electrical continuity with the housing 6 via the metallic inserts 4.
The electrical continuity and the shielding continuity are therefore ensured from the connector body 2 to the electrical control device housing 6.
Further, the screw 50 compresses the border 17 during the screwing, and the compressed border, being at least partially elastically deformed, is adapted to brake the screw after screwing in order to avoid loosening of the screw 50.

Examples

Example 1: Salt spray tests for connection systems

1-Experimental parameters

Salt spray tests have been performed on the following connection systems:

Sample A: connector assembly which does not comprise a metal shield plate, this connector assembly being fastened to a housing of an electrical device thanks to fastening devices.
Sample B: connector assembly which comprises a metal shield plate made of aluminum alloy 1050, this connector assembly being fastened to a housing of an electrical device.thanks to fastening devices.

The interface shielding measurement is measured before the tests. For that, samples A and B are put on a braid and the interface shielding measurement is measured between the terminals of a multimeter. The result of the interface resistance shielding is thus representative of the whole connection system.

Then, samples A and B are put in a salt fog chamber and are subjected to different tests. The parameters of the tests are summarized in table 1.

Table 1: Test parameters

Nature of the test	Duration (h)	Temperature (°C)	Tolerance (°C)	Relative humidity (%)	Tolerance (%)
Salt spray	4	35	+/-2	No requirement
Drying
	2	60	+/-2	Less than 30% RH	-
Temperature and humidity	2	50	+/-2	95	+/-5RH

One cycle takes 8 hours.
After 78 cycles, the interface shielding measurement of samples A and B is measured.

2- Results

The results are summarized in table 2 below. Table 2

Sample Rc initial (mΩ) Rc after 78 cycles (mΩ)

A 234 725

B 276 273
The results clearly show that the connector assembly comprising a metal shield plate made of aluminum alloy 1050 (samples B) presents a very low difference between the interface resistance shielding before the spray tests and after 78 cycles of the spray tests compared to the connector assembly which does not comprise a metal shield plate.

3- Conclusions

These results underline that the presence of a metal plate made of aluminum alloy 1050 allows the decrease of the corrosion inside the connector assembly, especially in the interface area with the device.

Example 2: Comparison of the corrosion between metal shield plates made of different aluminum alloys

The following connection systems have been subjected to the salt tests described in example 1.
Sample 1: Connector assembly comprising a metal plate made of 1010 aluminum alloy (1XXX series); said connector assembly being fastened to a housing of an electrical device thanks to fastening devices.
Sample 2: Connector assembly comprising a metal plate made of 2017 aluminum alloy (2XXX series); said connector assembly being fastened to a housing of an electrical device thanks to fastening devices.
Sample 3: Connector assembly comprising a metal plate made of 5754 aluminum alloy (5XXX series); said connector assembly being fastened to a housing of an electrical device thanks to fastening devices.
After 80 cycles, the connector assemblies of samples 1, 2 and 3 have been disassembled from the housing of the electrical device to observe the corrosion visible to naked eyes.
The metal plate made of 1XXX series aluminum alloy presents the lowest corrosion whereas the metal plate made of 2XXX presents the highest corrosion.
These observations underline that the metal plate made of 1XXX present the best anti-corrosive properties.

Claims

A connector assembly (10), adapted to be fastened to a mounting support, comprising :
- a connector foot portion (1), adapted to be fastened to the mounting support (6) thanks to fastening devices (5), said connector foot portion (1) comprising a base metal shield plate (3),

- a connector body portion (2), extending away from the connector foot portion outwardly relative to the mounting support, and having a body shield member (22),
whereby the body shield member (22) is in electrical contact with the shield plate (3) and whereby the shield plate (3) is in electrical continuity with the fastening devices establishing a complete electrical continuity between the body shield member (22) and the mounting support (6),
wherein the connector foot portion (1) has at least a hole (14) receiving said fastening devices (5),
characterized in that a metallic insert (4) is inserted in the hole (14), this metallic insert being in electrical contact with the shield plate (3) and with the fastening devices (5).
Connector assembly (10) according to claim 1, wherein the shield plate (3) has a hole (44) coaxially located relative to the hole (14) of the connector foot portion (1), the hole (44) of the shield plate having at least a slant elastic projection (33) adapted to bear on the metallic insert (4).
Connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 1-2, wherein the shield plate (3) is made of an aluminum alloy of 1XXX series.
Connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 1-3, wherein the shield plate (3) has clips (32) received in the foot portion (1) whereby the shield plate (3) is retained on the foot portion (1).
Connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 1-4, wherein the body shield member (22) has elastic lugs (23) bearing on the shield plate (3) for establishing the electrical contact between the body shield member (22) and the shield plate (3).
Connector assembly (10) according to claim 5, wherein the shield plate (3) has a central opening (30) with an oval shape substantially corresponding to the shape of the body shield member (22), and the elastic lugs (23) are distributed around the oval shape.
Connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 1-6, wherein the fastening devices (5) comprise at least a screw (50) adapted to be received in a thread (60) in the mounting support (6).
Connector assembly (10) according to claim 7, wherein at least one hole (14) of receiving fastening devices has a border (17), this border protruding with respect to the metallic insert (4), whereby the border is compressed by the screw (50) after the screwing, and whereby said border is adapted to brake the screw after screwing in order to avoid loosening of the screw (50).
A connector assembly (10) according to claim 1, wherein:
- the connector foot portion (1) comprises at least three holes (14) and the fastening device being screws,

- the connector body portion is a substantially cylindrical connector body portion (2), extending away from the connector foot portion outwardly relative to an electrical control device, wherein the body shield member (22)is cylindrical with respect to a mating axis (X),

- wherein the shield plate (3) extends substantially in a plane (P) perpendicular to the mating axis (X),

- at least three metallic inserts (4) are inserted respectively in the holes (14),
wherein the shield plate (3) is in electrical contact with the metallic inserts (4), whereby said metallic inserts (4) are in electrical contact with the screws (50).
Connector assembly (10) according to claim 9, wherein each of the hole (14) has a border (17), said border protruding with respect to the metallic insert (4) along the mating axis (X), whereby the border is compressed by the screw (50) after the screwing, and whereby said border is adapted to brake the screw after screwing in order to avoid loosening of the screw (50).
Connection system comprising :
- a connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 1 to 10,

- fastening devices (5),

- a mounting support (6),
wherein the fastening devices are adapted to fasten the connector assembly (10) on the mounting support (6), whereby the fastening devices (5) are in electrical contact with the mounting support (6).
Connection system comprising :
- a connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 8 or 10,

- screws (50),

- a mounting support (6),
wherein the screws (50) are adapted to fasten the connector assembly on the mounting support, whereby the fastening devices are in electrical contact with the mounting support and whereby the screws (50) compress the border (17) after the screwing, and whereby said border is adapted to brake the screw after screwing in order to avoid loosening of the screw (50).
Assembly method for fastening a connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 1 to 10, to a mounting support (6), comprising the steps of:
- mounting the shield plate (3) on the connector foot portion (1),

- inserting metallic inserts (4) into holes (14),

- fastening the connector assembly thanks to fastening devices (5) whereby said body shield member (22) is in electrical contact with the shield plate (3) and the shield plate (3) is in electrical continuity with the fastening devices (5), and whereby the fastening devices are in electrical continuity with the mounting support (6).
Assembly method for fastening a connector assembly (10) according to claim 13, whereby the fastening of the connector assembly is done by :
- screwing screws (50) in threads (60) of the mounting support (6) whereby the body shield member (22) is in electrical contact with the shield plate (3) and whereby said shield plate (3) is in electrical continuity with said screws, and whereby said screws are in electrical continuity with the mounting support (6), and whereby the screws (50) compress a border (17) of the hole (14) after the screwing, and whereby the border is adapted to brake the screw after screwing in order to avoid loosening of the screw (50).
A connector assembly (10) according to any of the claims 1 to 10, adapted to be fastened to a mounting support, comprising a connector foot portion (1), adapted to be fastened to the mounting support (6), and comprising a base metal shield plate (3),
wherein the shield plate (3) is made of an aluminum alloy of 1XXX series.