EP3467968A1 - Steckverbinder - Google Patents

Steckverbinder Download PDF

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Publication number
EP3467968A1
EP3467968A1 EP17195531.3A EP17195531A EP3467968A1 EP 3467968 A1 EP3467968 A1 EP 3467968A1 EP 17195531 A EP17195531 A EP 17195531A EP 3467968 A1 EP3467968 A1 EP 3467968A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
insulator
pin
segments
retaining means
pins
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.)
Pending
Application number
EP17195531.3A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
designation of the inventor has not yet been filed The
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.)
BAE Systems PLC
Original Assignee
BAE Systems PLC
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 BAE Systems PLC filed Critical BAE Systems PLC
Priority to EP17195531.3A priority Critical patent/EP3467968A1/de
Priority to PCT/GB2018/052871 priority patent/WO2019073211A1/en
Priority to EP18782500.5A priority patent/EP3695471B1/de
Priority to US16/651,708 priority patent/US10910784B2/en
Publication of EP3467968A1 publication Critical patent/EP3467968A1/de
Priority to US17/140,332 priority patent/US11303085B2/en
Pending 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
    • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
    • H01R43/20—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for assembling or disassembling contact members with insulating base, case or sleeve
    • 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
    • H01R13/40—Securing contact members in or to a base or case; Insulating of contact members
    • H01R13/42—Securing in a demountable manner
    • H01R13/424—Securing in base or case composed of a plurality of insulating parts having at least one resilient insulating part
    • 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
    • H01R13/46—Bases; Cases
    • H01R13/514—Bases; Cases composed as a modular blocks or assembly, i.e. composed of co-operating parts provided with contact members or holding contact members between them
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R2107/00—Four or more poles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R24/00—Two-part coupling devices, or either of their cooperating parts, characterised by their overall structure
    • H01R24/86—Parallel contacts arranged about a common axis

Definitions

  • This disclosure relates to electrical plugs and sockets, and in particular insulator systems for electrical plugs.
  • FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a typical electrical plug system with a partial cut-away cross section and having multiple pins.
  • the plug system comprises a plug part 10 which fits into a socket part 11 such that electrical contact is made between pins 12, 13 in each of those parts.
  • Each of the plug 10 and socket 11 part comprises a housing 14, 15 and an insulator 16, 17.
  • socket part 11 is for mounting in a panel and holds male pins 13.
  • the back side 18 of the socket is exposed at the rear of the panel and wires are connected to the pins 13 on this side.
  • the plug 10 is open at its rear side 19 for the entry of wires connected to pins 12.
  • each of the pins 12, 13 is attached to the end of a wire in the bundle, and the pin is inserted from the rear face of the plug/socket 10, 11 into the insulator 16, 17 where it is retained.
  • This assembly is a manual labour-intensive process as each wire & pin must be identified and inserted into the correct receiving hole in the relevant insulator 16, 17. Insertion of wires into the correct holes is a manual task due to the small area in the connector back and difficulties of alignment.
  • plugs and sockets such as those shown in Figure 1 are utilised to connect sections of wiring looms for vehicles such as aircraft.
  • Such wiring looms often comprise large numbers of wires and connectors with different routing for different wires.
  • Such looms are assembled in 2D on wiring layout boards where wires are cut to length and bound together in the required layout. The 2D assembly can then be removed from the layout board and the loom transferred to the vehicle.
  • a difficulty occurs because it is often necessary to route the loom through small spaces with holes that are too small for plugs and sockets to pass through. It is therefore necessary to assemble the loom without the plugs and sockets, position the loom in the required location, and then add the plugs and sockets. The difficult assembly of the connectors is thus made harder as it must be performed in the imperfect environment of the vehicle. Furthermore, to avoid damage to the pins it is often necessary to fit those after placement of the loom in the vehicle, rather than on the layout board.
  • Embodiments described below are not limited to implementations which solve any or all of the disadvantages of known systems.
  • an insulator component for carrying electrical pins in a plug or socket of an electrical connector, the insulator comprising a plurality of segments, one or more of the segments having pin retaining means for retaining at least one electrical pin, wherein the segments are movable between an unfolded state and a folded state, wherein the folded state is configured to be received within a housing part of an electrical plug or socket.
  • segments may be arranged to allow easy insertion of pins into the pin retaining means.
  • In the unfolded state segments may be arranged to present the pin retaining means in a linear array.
  • At least one segment may be connected to at least one other segment by a hinge.
  • the insulator may be movable between the unfolded and folded state by bending each hinge.
  • the insulator may further comprise means to retain the insulator in the folded state.
  • the retaining means may allow insertion of a pin through a side surface of the insulator.
  • the insulator may further comprise machine-readable markings for the identification of segments and/or pin retaining means.
  • connector assembly comprising a connector housing and an insulator component as described hereinbefore.
  • a method of assembling a plug or socket of an electrical connector comprising the steps of providing an insulator component in an unfolded state, the insulator comprising a plurality of segments, at least one segment having at least one pin retaining means; attaching a pin to a respective wire, the pin being configuring for retention by the at least one pin retaining means; inserting the pin into one of the at least one pin retaining means; folding the insulator component into a folded state in which it is receivable by a housing of the plug or socket; and inserting the folded insulator component into the housing.
  • a plurality of wires may be attached to a plurality of pins and inserted into the insulator component to form a wiring loom.
  • the wiring loom may be installed.
  • the method may further comprise performing a continuity check between the steps of inserting a pin into the insulator component and folding the insulator.
  • the step of inserting the pin into the insulator may be automated.
  • An earth material may be connected to at least one of the wires.
  • the current disclosure describes a new design of insulator component for holding pins in plugs and sockets which offers improved assembly and testing compared to the prior art.
  • the insulator is provided in an unfolded state in which pins can be easily inserted and connections verified. After insertion of all pins, the insulator is folded into the state required for insertion into the connector body. In the folded state the insulator is significantly smaller than the connector body and can thus be fed through small spaces during installation of the wiring loom prior to insertion in the connector body. The pins and insulator can thus be assembled with the loom during manufacture of the loom on the layout board thus giving a more convenient manufacturing location.
  • the unfolded insulator may present the pin locations in a linear array (that is, with the pin locations lying in a single plane and along a single axis such that the pins are generally parallel to one another). The position of each pin is thus readily apparent to a user.
  • the insulator is inserted into the relevant connector body and assembly is complete. Since this final step does not define the location or electrical connections of wires within the connector verification at this stage may be minimised.
  • Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of an example insulator according to the current disclosure.
  • Figure 2a shows end and plan views in the unfolded state
  • Figure 2b shows an end view in the folded state.
  • the insulator 20 comprises four segments 21a-d, each formed as a triangle shape. Each segment comprises a pin retaining means 22a-d for receiving and retaining a pin.
  • the segments 21a-d are connected such that they can be rotated relative to each other about their point of connection and folded or rolled up to form the folded state shown in Figure 2b .
  • the connector body is configured to receive and retain the insulator in the folded state using configurations known in the art.
  • a means to retain the insulator in the folded state may be provided, for example clips or tape may be provided to retain each segment in location. Alternatively a separate retaining component may be utilised.
  • the retaining means may be designed to be permanent or reversible.
  • the example of Figure 2 is only one example of an insulator design in accordance with the current disclosure for use in an electrical connector, for example a plug or socket.
  • the number of pin retaining means in each segment may be varied and the number of segments may be varied. For example there may be 1 to 5 pin retaining means, for example 1,2,3,4 or 5 pin retaining means. There may also be from 3 to 20 segments, or 3 to 10 segments, for example, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 segments.
  • the shape of the folded insulator may be selected as desired for a particular connector arrangement, for example, it may be triangular, rectangular or semi-circular. The shape and number of segments may be selected as appropriate to give the desired shape.
  • the folding mechanism may also be varied to provide the required unfolded and folded shape.
  • a concertina structure may be utilised, or folding hinges 23 as shown in the example of Figure 2 .
  • the terms folded and unfolded should not therefore be read to limit the insulator design to only those in which a purely folding mechanism is used.
  • the insulator may not fold to provide a solid shape, but may leave voids which may or may not be filled with other pieces of insulator material.
  • the folding insulator with pins may form a circle which may be wrapped around a cylindrical central insulator.
  • the central insulator may, or may not, have further pin retaining means and may, or may not, be connected to the other segments.
  • pin retaining means may be used which can receive and retain pins.
  • conventional through-holes from a rear face to a front face are provided.
  • slots may be provided on a side face (i.e. a face orthogonal to the front and back faces) of the segments, for example the face which will be uppermost (which may be termed a top face) when the unfolded insulator is positioned on a surface for pins to be inserted.
  • Any appropriate means for receiving and retaining pins may be utilised.
  • the insulator may be formed from any appropriate insulating material, for example a plastic such as polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, silicone, cross-linked polyethylene, polyurethane or a rubber.
  • a plastic such as polyvinylchloride, polyethylene, silicone, cross-linked polyethylene, polyurethane or a rubber.
  • Figure 3 shows a method of assembly using an insulator of the type shown in Figure 2 .
  • an insulator in the unfolded state is positioned on a wiring layout board.
  • wires are laid out using the layout board in the required design.
  • pins are attached to the wires and the pins are inserted into the required location in the insulator.
  • Steps 31 and 32 may be performed sequentially, or may be performed in turn for each wire. That is, all wires may be laid out, then all pins attached and inserted, or individual wires (or groups of wires) may be laid out, a pin attached and inserted into the insulator, and then the process repeated for other wires.
  • These processes may be automated, by a suitable robot, due to the improved identification of, and access to, the pin retaining means.
  • the segments and/or pin locations may be marked with machine- or human-readable identifiers to facilitate correct assembly.
  • any required verification testing is performed.
  • visual and continuity testing may be conducted.
  • Such testing may also be simpler than in previous designs due to the layout of the insulator and pin arrangement in the unfolded state.
  • the insulator is folded or otherwise converted into the folded state and may be secured in that position using means provided on the insulator, for example sticky tape, or a separate temporary or permanent retaining means, for example a clip.
  • the loom is installed in the required location, for example on a vehicle such as an aircraft, and at step 36 the insulators are inserted into respective connector bodies.
  • any further testing is performed, but this may be minimal due to the earlier verification of correct wire and pin installation in the insulators.
  • an additional step may be performed to earth a selection of the pins/wires.
  • an earth material for example a metal mesh
  • This may be performed in the conventional manner, but due to the easier-to-access layout as described above the process is easier to perform.
  • the earth material is rolled with the insulator and wires upon assembly and connected to an earth location in the conventional manner.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
EP17195531.3A 2017-10-09 2017-10-09 Steckverbinder Pending EP3467968A1 (de)

Priority Applications (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP17195531.3A EP3467968A1 (de) 2017-10-09 2017-10-09 Steckverbinder
PCT/GB2018/052871 WO2019073211A1 (en) 2017-10-09 2018-10-08 ENSEMBLE SHEET
EP18782500.5A EP3695471B1 (de) 2017-10-09 2018-10-08 Steckverbinder
US16/651,708 US10910784B2 (en) 2017-10-09 2018-10-08 Foldable plug assembly
US17/140,332 US11303085B2 (en) 2017-10-09 2021-01-04 Foldable plug assembly

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP17195531.3A EP3467968A1 (de) 2017-10-09 2017-10-09 Steckverbinder

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP3467968A1 true EP3467968A1 (de) 2019-04-10

Family

ID=60043111

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP17195531.3A Pending EP3467968A1 (de) 2017-10-09 2017-10-09 Steckverbinder

Country Status (1)

Country Link
EP (1) EP3467968A1 (de)

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3920338A1 (de) * 2020-06-04 2021-12-08 Nexans Elektrische kontaktvorrichtung

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3114099A1 (de) * 1981-04-08 1982-10-28 Nicolay Gmbh, 7312 Kirchheim "vorrichtung zum herstellen einer elektrischen verbindung zwischen mehreren leitern, insbesondere stecker oder steckdose"
EP0847107A1 (de) * 1996-12-06 1998-06-10 Radiall Modularer Rundverbinder
DE19931728A1 (de) * 1999-07-08 2001-01-11 Intercontec Gmbh Kontaktträger für vielpolige elektrische Steckverbinder
EP2985840A1 (de) * 2014-08-12 2016-02-17 Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. Elektrischer steckverbinder
EP3208893A2 (de) * 2016-02-22 2017-08-23 J.S.T. Corporation Verbinder mit anschlusspositionsbestätigung

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE3114099A1 (de) * 1981-04-08 1982-10-28 Nicolay Gmbh, 7312 Kirchheim "vorrichtung zum herstellen einer elektrischen verbindung zwischen mehreren leitern, insbesondere stecker oder steckdose"
EP0847107A1 (de) * 1996-12-06 1998-06-10 Radiall Modularer Rundverbinder
DE19931728A1 (de) * 1999-07-08 2001-01-11 Intercontec Gmbh Kontaktträger für vielpolige elektrische Steckverbinder
EP2985840A1 (de) * 2014-08-12 2016-02-17 Tyco Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. Elektrischer steckverbinder
EP3208893A2 (de) * 2016-02-22 2017-08-23 J.S.T. Corporation Verbinder mit anschlusspositionsbestätigung

Cited By (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP3920338A1 (de) * 2020-06-04 2021-12-08 Nexans Elektrische kontaktvorrichtung

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