EP3526859B1 - Plug connector comprising jumpers, and method of use - Google Patents

Description

The invention is based on a contact carrier according to the generic type of independent claim 1.

Furthermore, the invention is based on a method for changing the operating state of an electrical system, in particular an escalator, according to the independent secondary claim 17.

Connectors with short-circuit bridges are required in particular for carrying out maintenance work on electrical systems, e.g. on escalators.

State of the art

Functionally comparable connectors have been known in the prior art since around 1996. The company "HARTING Electronic Components Ges.m.b.H." At that time, in cooperation with the company "Compact Electric" in Vienna, he manufactured six-pole heavy-duty connectors with attachment housings for the company "Schindler" (today's name: "Schindler Fahrtreppen International GmbH"), whereby the attachment housings have swiveling, in particular opening and closing housing covers , A printed circuit board with up to six contact pins soldered onto it is screwed into each of these swiveling housing covers. These contact pins are usually electrically conductively connected to each other in pairs via a conductor track on the circuit board and thus form an electrical short-circuit bridge, often called "bridge" in short.

Furthermore, this connector has an insulating body in which six contact sockets are arranged. By closing the housing cover, for example, two of the contact sockets can be "bridged", ie by one of the Bridges are electrically connected to each other. Due to the course of the conductor tracks on the printed circuit board, the contact pins belonging to a bridge, and thus also the contact sockets opposite them and to be bridged, can be configured to form corresponding pairs. These pairings can be adapted to the respective requirements by changing the printed circuit board to another corresponding printed circuit board.

By closing the housing cover, the electrical system, e.g. the escalator, can be operated via the bridged contacts. The closed housing cover thus corresponds to the operating state. When the housing cover is open, operation is interrupted and a test plug can be plugged into the connector as a mating plug instead. The open housing cover thus corresponds to the maintenance status.

The pamphlet CN 202 797 560 U discloses the use of molded U-shaped contact pins for this design as an alternative to the configurable printed circuit board.

The basic housing design of these connectors corresponds to the state of the art at the time. For example, a comparable hinge joint mechanism for the housing cover has already been described in the publication DE 24 51 662 A1 described. Furthermore, the reference discloses EP 0 731 534 A2 a so-called "Easy-Lock" locking bracket used in this case, the side parts of which have pockets in which a spring element and a locking lever-like locking element are arranged. In the pamphlet published a little later EP 0 957 540 B1 , which describes a connector housing that is particularly well protected against EMC ("Electromagnetic Compatibility"), mentions, among other things, a sealing ring with which the connector housing can be sealed against the ingress of dust and moisture in relation to a mating connector or also in relation to its own housing cover.

In practice, the functionality of a connector with electrical short-circuit bridges arranged in the housing cover has basically proven its worth. However, it was sometimes criticized that the contact pins inserted into the contact sockets together with the contact sockets exert a certain mechanical moment on the printed circuit board during the pivoting movement of the housing cover, so that the printed circuit board is exposed to mechanical loads. Also, the implementation of a large number of bridges using a simple printed circuit board is at least more difficult or no longer feasible. This is particularly disadvantageous because such a bridging function is increasingly being required for connectors with a larger number of contact pins, e.g. for ten-pole connectors.

In the current state of the art, there is a further disadvantage in the assembly effort involved in changing the printed circuit board or in the costly replacement of the entire housing cover if the configuration of the bridges is to be changed.

Accordingly, the option of a comfortable and cost-effective change of the bridge occupancy, e.g. for changing the operating status, is desired. A high current carrying capacity of the bridges is still required for some applications.

The German Patent and Trademark Office has researched the following prior art in the priority application for the present application: DE 81 21 654 U1 , DE 44 13 043 A1 , JP 2001-110511A , DE 694 04 001 T2 , JP 2013-12437 A , DE 10 2004 018 554 A1 , DE 20 2011 108 572, U1 and US 2014/0057483 A1 .

The pamphlet DE 81 21 654 U1 further discloses a configurable keying plug with wires to each other crossing electrical connections of conductor tracks of a printed circuit board. This publication discloses a coding plug with a housing whose base part has passages spaced apart by the printed circuit board grid and whose cover closes off the base part, and with U-shaped conductor bridges made of wire, the middle bar of which has a length corresponding to the distance between two printed circuit board passages and the legs of which consist of the base part stick out.

task

The object of the invention is to provide a robust device which a handy switching between a Maintenance and an operating condition of an electrical system, such as an escalator, permitted. As many contact sockets of a plug connector as possible should be accessible to an external test plug during maintenance and be bridgeable in pairs in the operating state. In particular, it should be possible to change the configuration of the bridges conveniently and inexpensively.

This object is solved by the features of the independent claims.

A contact carrier is used to hold a number of U-shaped contact pins to produce short-circuit bridges and is suitable for being releasably arranged in a housing cover of a connector. The contact carrier is designed in at least two parts, i.e. it can be designed in two parts, three parts, four parts, ..., n parts, for example. The contact carrier can have at least two parts, at least three parts, at least four parts, ..., at least n parts.

Advantageous refinements of the invention are specified in the dependent claims.

The contact carrier advantageously consists of an electrically insulating material, preferably plastic. The contact carrier can be detachably held in the housing cover of the plug connector and can preferably be held so that it can move within a predetermined tolerance range. The U-shaped contact pins arranged in the contact carrier are used to create electrical short-circuit bridges in relation to contact sockets, which are arranged in an insulating body of the connector. On the cable connection side, these contact sockets can be electrically conductively connected, for example, to components of an electrical system, in particular an escalator.

Due to the multi-part, i.e. at least two-part, e.g. at least three-part form of the contact carrier, it is possible for the paths of the U-shaped contact pins, which form the bridges (short for "electrical short-circuit bridges"), to cross within the contact carrier. To change the configuration inexpensively, the U-shaped contact pins can be removed and/or inserted individually from the contact carrier, e.g. by separating and assembling the several parts of the contact carrier. For example, a specific bridge can be removed and/or added as needed, with very little effort. At the same time, the U-shaped contact pins can have a relatively large cross section compared to the conductor tracks of a printed circuit board. This is particularly advantageous because it significantly improves both the mechanical stability and the current-carrying capacity of the bridges compared to the printed circuit board solution. Of course, in a special embodiment, the parts of the multi-part contact carrier can snap together and/or be glued together after the U-shaped contact pins have been inserted. In the case of gluing, however, the possibility of removing them and thus the possibility of changing the configuration of this contact carrier is no longer available from this point in time, or is at least severely restricted. On the other hand, latching also allows this contact carrier to be reconfigured later.

As soon as the contact carrier is arranged on the housing cover of the connector housing, the U-shaped contact pins are able to be automatically inserted into the respective contact socket of the connector by closing/closing, in particular by means of a pivoting movement, of the housing cover and thereby in each case a pair of contact sockets provided for this purpose electric to bridge, ie to electrically conductively connect the two contact sockets that form this pair.

The use of the contact carrier is extremely advantageous compared to a solution in which simple contact pins are soldered to a printed circuit board or in which U-shaped contact pins are simply inserted into the housing cover and e.g. encapsulated with a plastic compound.

In contrast, the multi-part contact carrier has the advantage, for example, that individual U-shaped contact pins can be manually removed from the contact carrier and/or inserted into it at any time. As will be explained later, this can also be used to change the operating status of the electrical system, e.g. the escalator.

A certain so-called "play" of the contact carrier in relation to the housing cover in which it is held in this way can create mechanical tolerances that are necessary in order to close the housing cover of the connector housing, i.e. fold it closed, or open it, i.e open to be able to, even while the U-shaped contact pins, at least partially, are inserted into the contact sockets of the connector. The solution according to the invention thus has the advantage that it is stable and flexible. This play can be realized, for example, by arranging at least one, preferably two, positioning pins in the housing cover, which have a circular cross section. The contact body can have suitable positioning openings for receiving these positioning pins, which have a slot-like cross section, the minor axis preferably being aligned parallel to the axis of rotation of the housing cover and the major axis preferably being aligned perpendicular thereto. This allows the contact carrier in the pivoting direction of the housing cover have said tolerance, be positioned perpendicular to it and at the same time be held with its latching arms in the counter-latching arms of the housing cover.

Furthermore, the configuration of the bridges can be adapted at any time to a desired changed function of the operating state within the possibilities specified by the contact carrier, for example by suitably exchanging, arranging, removing and/or adding individual U-shaped contact pins in/from the contact carrier.

In a preferred embodiment, the contact carrier can, in addition to its said at least two parts, have a third part that can be attached to the parts connected to one another, in particular a cover that can be snapped onto it. For example, the contact carrier can have at least one upper part and one lower part and said cover, so that in this case the contact carrier is designed in at least three parts overall. Then the upper part can first be attached to the lower part. The cover can then be attached to the upper part and, in particular, fastened to the lower part, eg latched. For this purpose, the cover can have, for example, fastening tabs with locking windows, with which it locks onto locking projections on the lower part. In a preferred embodiment, this latching also allows the upper part to be held on the lower part. On the other hand, it is also of particular advantage if the cover has a protective surface with which it rests against the upper part when it is in place and thereby covers at least one or optionally also several contacts running through the upper part, in particular through at least one contact receptacle of the upper part . This protective surface reliably prevents, for example, manual contact with at least one current-carrying contact pin. The lid can therefore have a dual function, namely both an electrical Safety function as well as a mechanical, constructive fastening function.

The electrical safety function is particularly advantageous because - at least theoretically and/or in the event of damage - when the housing cover of the connector is opened, there is a risk that the contact carrier detachably attached to it will unintentionally become detached from the housing cover on the one hand, while the contact pins accommodated therein will become detached on the other are still plugged into the insulator and are thereby mechanically held to it. Of course, this does not correspond to the intended use of the contact carrier, but represents a possible source of danger in the event of incorrect operation or damage, since the contact pins can ultimately be in electrical contact with socket contacts arranged in the insulating body. In the worst case, at least one of these socket contacts, and thus also the contact pin connected to it, can even carry a life-threatening electrical voltage.

By means of said cover of the contact carrier and in particular its protective surface, manual contact with this contact pin can also be safely avoided in such a case of error. Advantageously, such a risk can be reliably prevented by fundamental incorrect operation, e.g. by untrained personnel who do not fasten the contact carrier in the cover but instead insert it directly into the insulating body, disregarding the relevant safety regulations.

In particular, it is particularly advantageous for this purpose to glue a contact carrier that has finally been individually configured by the user, ie provided with the desired U-shaped contact pins, and in particular also its cover to the other parts, in particular to be glued to the upper and lower part, because the lid is then finally no longer removable.

In order to be able to change the jumper assignment even more flexibly, e.g. to operate the connector with a converted system or to fundamentally change the operation of the system, in an advantageous embodiment, another contact carrier, which has the new, desired configuration, can of course be replaced with the contact carrier currently used exchanged, ie fixed in the housing cover instead of it. As a result, new bridge connections are also made possible in a cost-effective and uncomplicated manner, for which no contact receptacles are provided in the contact carrier to be replaced.

Exactly such an exchange of the contact carrier for another contact carrier can also be carried out very conveniently and inexpensively by locking and positioning means of the respective contact carrier and the housing cover. As described above, this variant is useful, for example, if the contact carrier currently used does not support the course of at least one specific desired bridge through its contacts.

In particular, this method is suitable for the use of bonded contact carriers, in particular contact carriers with a cover that is bonded for safety reasons.

In this way, the user can individually configure different contact carriers with different bridge functions for an existing plug connection and make them available for different applications.

It can be of particular advantage to make the various contact carriers distinguishable with features, in particular optical features, in particular to design the contact carriers in different colors in order to facilitate their assignment to the respective application (e.g. escalator should run upwards: contact carrier is green; escalator should run downwards: contact carrier is red, etc.).

As an alternative or in addition, special assignments of the contact sockets could also be implemented on the cable connection side, which is sometimes not desirable in practice, e.g. due to a fundamentally fixed, e.g. standardized, assignment of the contact sockets. In this case, too, the detachably fastened contact carrier offers an extremely flexible and, at the same time, very easy-to-use solution, which can be easily handled, flexibly and cost-effectively adapted to a given assignment on the cable connection side.

The special advantages of the multi-part contact carrier are to be highlighted below.

For example, a contact carrier for a ten-pole connector is suitable for receiving five U-shaped contact pins, which then each form a bridge between the pairs of contact sockets 5-10; 4-6; 1-7; 2-8; form 3-9. If the bridge between the contact sockets 5-10 and the bridge between the contact sockets 2-8 is no longer desired, the corresponding U-shaped contact pins can be removed from the contact carrier with little effort by suitably separating individual parts of the contact carrier. For this purpose, the contact carrier is advantageously removed from the housing cover beforehand and then fastened to it again, which is possible with very little effort, in particular due to the common latching mechanism. Thereupon when the housing cover is closed, only the contact socket pairs 4-6; 1-7; 3-9 bridged.

If, for example, one of these bridges is required again later, the previously removed U-shaped contact pin can be reinstalled in the contact carrier in the same way with extremely little effort. This process of installing and removing individual contact bridges can be repeated non-destructively and almost as often as required by simply separating the individual parts of the contact carrier configuration allowed.

The two-part contact carrier consists of an upper part and a lower part which can be assembled to form the contact carrier.

The technology described below therefore relates, according to the invention, to the advantageous embodiment of a two-part contact body with the upper part and the lower part. However, it is clear to the person skilled in the art that this teaching can be transferred without further ado to any desired multi-part design, ie, for example, to a 3, 4, 5, . . . , n-part design of the contact carrier. Both the upper part and the lower part can preferably have an essentially cuboid basic shape and each have a contact surface and, opposite thereto, a plug-in area. When the upper part and the lower part are joined together, the plug-in area of the upper part can be arranged on the contact surface of the lower part.

At least one elongate recess is arranged in the contact surface of the upper part as a contact receptacle. In the contact area of Lower part is also at least one elongated recess than

contact arranged. The contact carrier, which is intended for use in the ten-pole connector, for example, can have a total of five contact receptacles. In a preferred embodiment, the contact surface of the lower part can then have four contact receptacles, for example, and the contact surface of the upper part can accordingly have one contact receptacle. Some of the contacts may be the same length. Some of the contacts also vary in length.

Both the upper part and the lower part can have through-openings at the ends of each contact receptacle leading to the respective contact surface for the passage of contacts, in particular for the passage of plug-side end regions of the U-shaped contact pins. In addition, the lower part can also have additional through-openings, which connect to the through-openings of the upper part when the contact carrier is in the assembled state. As a result, a U-shaped contact pin inserted into the contact receptacle of the upper part can be guided with its plug-side end regions both through the through-openings of the upper part and through the further through-openings of the lower part in order to fulfill its bridging function with respect to the respective contact sockets.

The upper part and the lower part can have latching means, for example latching hooks and latching recesses, for mutual latching and unlatching. These locking means can also have a positioning function. Alternatively or additionally, the upper part and the lower part can have separate positioning means for mutual positioning in their assembled state. For example, the upper part can have positioning pins on its plug-in area and the lower part can have matching pins on its contact surface Possess positioning recesses. In a very special embodiment, after inserting the U-shaped contact pins, the upper and lower parts can also be glued together, which increases stability but limits flexibility. However, gluing does not have to be done at the factory, but can also be carried out by the customer after the final configuration/equipment of the contact carrier has taken place, which means that the jumper assignment can still be customized flexibly.

For its part, the contact carrier has polarization and latching means for its polarization relative to the insulating body of the connector and for its latching and unlatching on the housing cover. In this case, the polarization means consists of a preferably L-shaped polarization element of the contact carrier, which is formed on the contact carrier, for example on its upper part. The latching means can consist of one or more latching arms of the contact carrier, which can be formed on the lower part, for example. These latching means can latch on counter-latching means of the housing cover. In particular, the contact carrier can have latching arms that latch on counter-latching arms of the housing cover. In addition, the housing cover can have positioning pins and the contact carrier can have positioning openings. This has the advantage that the contact carrier has a defined position in relation to the insulating body, so that the U-shaped contact pins held by it dip into contact recesses in the insulating body in order to contact the contact sockets arranged therein. Said play can exist between the positioning pins and the positioning openings in order to allow a slight tilting movement of the contact carrier relative to the housing cover.

The lower part can also have hollow-cylindrical projections on its plug-in area at said through-openings for mechanical guidance and better mutual electrical Have insulation of the plug-side end portions of the U-shaped contact pins.

The U-shaped contact pins are advantageously made of an electrically conductive material, preferably metal, and in particular have a central region which runs in a straight line and which advantageously has the same length as at least one contact receptacle of the contact carrier. At both ends of the central area, plug-side end areas are bent at right angles. For this purpose, the U-shaped contact pins have a bending area between the central area and the plug-side end areas, which can naturally have a certain curvature. The central area of the U-shaped contact pins can thus be inserted into the respective contact receptacle. The plug-side end areas running at right angles to the central area can simultaneously be inserted through the respective through-openings, so that they protrude from the bottom part at the plug-side end of the bottom part for contacting the contact sockets. The at least one U-shaped contact pin, which is arranged on the upper part, can be passed through the further through-openings of the lower part. The plug-side end areas of all U-shaped contact pins can thus protrude from the contact surface of the lower part and can preferably be encased in sections by the said hollow-cylindrical projections of this plug-in area, but protrude from it at their ends in order to be plugged into the respective contact sockets.

U-shaped contact pins can be provided in various configurations. These can differ in particular by the length of their central area and/or by the length of their plug-side end areas. For use with a two-part contact carrier, which consists of an upper and lower part, the Use of U-shaped contact pins that differ from each other at least in the length of their plug-side end areas.

A first contact pin, which is intended for use in the upper part, advantageously has longer end regions than a second contact pin, which is intended for use in the lower part. Finally, the end areas of the first U-shaped contact pin must pass through two through-openings in the upper part and two further through-openings in the lower part and, if necessary, through the cylindrical projections of the lower part and also protrude from the plug-in area of the lower part in order to contact the contact sockets. The end areas of the second U-shaped contact pins only have to pass through the through-opening of the lower part and possibly the cylindrical projections and protrude from the plug-in area in order to contact the respective contact sockets.

Furthermore, the U-shaped contact pins can differ in the length of their central areas. This determines the length of the bridge, which is determined by how far apart the respective contact sockets are arranged in the insulating body of the connector.

In this way, a set of suitable U-shaped contact pins can be put together for use with a specific contact carrier, at least some of which differ in their design. At least two of these U-shaped contact pins preferably differ in the length of their central areas and/or in the length of their plug-side end areas.

The U-shaped contact pins inserted into the lower part can be fixed to the upper part by joining it together and, if necessary, latching it. The at least one inlaid in the upper part U-shaped Contact pin can be fixed by fastening the contact carrier in the housing cover.

• Ein Anbaugehäuse mit dem daran auf- und zuklappbar gehaltenen Gehäusedeckel;
• Einen Isolierkörper mit den darin angeordneten Kontaktbuchsen;
• Einen Verriegelungsmechanismus zum Verriegeln des Gehäusedeckels im zugeklappten Zustand.

The connector shall have at least the following:

• An add-on housing with the housing cover that can be opened and closed on it;
• An insulating body with the contact sockets arranged therein;
• A locking mechanism for locking the housing cover in the closed state.

According to the invention, the contact carrier is releasably fixed, in particular latched, in the housing cover.

For this purpose, the contact carrier can have latching arms which are able to detachably latch with counter-latching arms of the housing cover.

By closing the housing cover, at least one contact pin can be inserted with its two end regions into two of the contact sockets in order to connect them to one another in an electrically conductive manner, ie to bridge them.

As already mentioned, the contact carrier has a polarization means, for example an L-shaped polarization element. The insulating body can have a matching counter-polarization means, e.g. a polarization recess, into which the polarization element of the contact carrier automatically engages when the housing cover is closed. On the opposite side, the insulating body can have a further counter-polarization means, for example a polarization bar, which prevents the housing cover from closing if the contact body is wrongly aligned relative to the insulating body.

The contact carrier can be movably fixed in the housing cover within a predetermined mechanical tolerance range to be able to open or close the housing cover of the connector housing without generating undesirable mechanical stresses, even while the at least one U-shaped contact pin is at least partially inserted into the contact sockets of the connector on the plug-in side, in particular with its plug-side ends. Finally, the plug-side end areas of the U-shaped contact pins in the contact sockets naturally move longitudinally, while the housing cover executes a rotating/pivoting movement when it is closed and opened. However, these two movements are made possible without the occurrence of mechanical stresses by said mechanical tolerances between the contact carrier and the housing cover.

Such a connector can be installed as a measurement interface in an electrical system, such as an escalator. For this purpose, at least two electrical components of the system, which should be electrically connected to one another in the operating state, are connected to the connector on the cable connection side, i.e. electrically connected to one of the contact sockets of the connector. The operating state can be switched off by opening the housing cover, i.e. the electrical components are no longer electrically connected to one another. In this state, a test plug of a measuring device can be plugged into the connector and the components can be tested separately, i.e. electrically decoupled from each other. To establish the operating state, the test plug can be removed and the housing cover can be closed again. The respective contact sockets are thus bridged again and the electrical components of the system connected to them are electrically connected to one another again.

Occasionally, however, the case can arise in which the operating state is to be changed, that electrical components of the system be exchanged and / or the pin assignment changes, etc., so that a change in the configuration of the bridges in the contact carrier is necessary.

For this purpose, in an advantageous embodiment, the contact carrier can be exchanged for another contact carrier which has the desired configuration with only little effort.

1. A. Entrasten des Kontaktträgers von einem Gehäusedeckel einesSteckverbinders;
2. B. Trennen mindestens zweier Teile des Kontaktträgers voneinander;
3. C. Entnehmen und/oder hinzufügen und/oder Umstecken mindestens eines U-förmigen Kontaktpins aus dem/ in den/ in dem Kontaktträger;
4. D. Zusammenfügen der mindestens zwei Teile des Kontaktträgers;
5. E. Verrasten des Kontaktträgers an dem Gehäusedeckel in einer festgelegten Polarisation gegenüber einem Isolierkörper des Steckverbinders. Insbesondere kann das Verfahren anschließend folgende weitere Verfahrensschritte aufweisen:
6. F. Schließen des Gehäusedeckels und dadurch ein automatisches Herstellen einer elektrisch leitenden Verbindung zwischen zumindest zwei Kontaktbuchsen durch zumindest einen im Kontaktträger angeordneten U-förmigen Kontaktpin, und dadurch
7. G. elektrisch leitendes Verbinden zumindest zweier elektrischer Komponenten der elektrischen Anlage, wobei diese Komponenten jeweils elektrisch leitend mit einer der zumindest zwei Kontaktbuchsen verbunden sind.

However, in many cases it is sufficient to modify the configuration of the contact carrier as follows in order to change the operating status of the electrical installation:

1. A. Unlatching the contact carrier from a housing cover of a connector;
2. B. separating at least two parts of the contact carrier from one another;
3. C. Removing and/or adding and/or replugging at least one U-shaped contact pin from/into/in the contact carrier;
4. D. Assembling the at least two parts of the contact carrier;
5. E. Latching of the contact carrier on the housing cover in a fixed polarization with respect to an insulating body of the connector. In particular, the method can then have the following further method steps:
6. F. Closing the housing cover and thereby automatically establishing an electrically conductive connection between at least two contact sockets by means of at least one U-shaped contact pin arranged in the contact carrier, and thereby
7. G. electrically conductive connection of at least two electrical components of the electrical system, these components each being electrically conductively connected to one of the at least two contact sockets.

In this way, the operating status of the electrical system can be changed flexibly, cost-effectively and with very little effort, so that Eg an escalator changes its direction of travel, etc., which represents an additional advantage of the contact carrier. In this case, no further component is required, but only the existing components are arranged differently with little manual effort.

example

Fig. 1

Einen Steckverbinder mit einem geöffneten Gehäusedeckel und einem darin aufgenommenen Kontaktträger;

Fig. 2a, b

ein Ober- und ein Unterteil des Kontaktträgers;

Fig. 3a, b, c

ein Set aus U-förmigen Kontaktpins in drei verschiedenen Bauformen;

Fig. 4a, b, c

den Kontaktträger in einer Explosionsdarstellung, beim Zusammensetzen und im zusammengesetzten Zustand;

Fig. 4d, e

den Kontaktträger mit einem Deckel in getrenntem und zusammengesetzten Zustand;

Fig. 5a, b

den mit den U-förmigen Kontaktpins bestückten Kontaktträger von unten und im Querschnitt;

Fig. 5c, d, e

das bestückte Unterteil in der Drauf- und Seitenansicht sowie im Querschnitt;

Fig. 6a, 6b

den Gehäusedeckel ohne und mit darin aufgenommenem Kontaktträger;

Fig.6c, d, e

den mit dem Kontaktträger bestückten Steckverbinder mit geöffnetem Gehäusedeckel in drei verschiedenen Ansichten;

Fig. 6f

den Steckverbinder mit geschlossenem Gehäusedeckel.

An embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and is explained in more detail below. Show it:

1

A connector with an opened housing cover and a contact carrier accommodated therein;

Fig. 2a, b

an upper and a lower part of the contact carrier;

Figures 3a,b,c

a set of U-shaped contact pins in three different configurations;

Figures 4a,b,c

the contact carrier in an exploded view, during assembly and in the assembled state;

Fig. 4d, e

the contact carrier with a cover in separate and assembled states;

Fig. 5a, b

the contact carrier equipped with the U-shaped contact pins from below and in cross section;

Fig. 5c,d,e

the assembled lower part in plan and side view as well as in cross section;

Figures 6a, 6b

the housing cover without and with the contact carrier accommodated therein;

Fig.6c,d,e

three different views of the connector fitted with the contact carrier with the housing cover open;

Fig. 6f

the connector with the housing cover closed.

The figures contain partially simplified, schematic representations. In some cases, identical reference symbols are used for the same but possibly not identical elements. Different views of the same elements could be scaled differently.

the Fig.1 shows a connector with a connector housing 1, which has an attachment housing 12 with a joint 11 and a housing cover 10 pivotably held thereon. The plug connector also has an insulating body 2 with contact sockets 28 (not visible in this illustration) and a locking clip 14 for locking the housing cover 10, which may be closed, on its locking pin 104.

A two-part contact carrier 3 is accommodated in the housing cover 10, which consists of an upper part 31 and a lower part 32, not yet identified here for reasons of clarity. In the contact carrier 3, U-shaped contact pins 8, 8', 8'' are arranged as electrical bridges, which are also not yet identified in this representation for reasons of clarity.

The contact carrier 3 has a locking arm 321 at each of two opposite ends. The housing cover 10 has two counter-locking arms 101, on the free ends of which locking hooks 103 are formed. The contact carrier 3 latches with its latching arms 321 on these latching hooks 103 and is thus held on the housing cover 10 .

The contact carrier also has an L-shaped polarization element 311, which engages in a polarization recess in the insulating body 2 when the housing cover 10 is closed, the polarization recess being formed by two polarization webs 211 delimiting it. On its opposite side, the insulator has a centrally arranged polarization web 211 ′, which prevents the housing cover 10 from closing if the contact body 3 is incorrectly aligned relative to the insulator 2 .

the Figures 2a and 2b 1 shows the upper part 31 and the lower part 32 of the contact carrier 3 with a view of their respective contact surface 314, 324. Opposite they each have a plug-in area 315, 325, the respective plug-in areas being referred to in this perspective but actually from the upper 31 or lower part 32 are covered and therefore not visible.

The upper part 31 has a cuboid basic shape with the L-shaped polarization element 311 formed on the side. In its contact side 314 there is a first contact receptacle 316 in the form of an elongate depression which is connected at each of its ends to the contact area 315 by a through-opening 318. Furthermore, near its ends, the upper part 31 has locating holes 319 in the form of oblong holes therethrough. As will be explained later, this special cross-sectional shape of the positioning openings 319 serves as tolerance compensation for the so-called "play" of the contact carrier 3 relative to the housing cover 10 . As a result, a slight tilting movement relative to the housing cover 10 is made possible when the housing cover 10 is closed.

The lower part 32 has just such positioning openings 329 which adjoin the positioning openings 319 of the upper part 31 when it is joined together.

Furthermore, the lower part 32 has four contact receptacles 326', 326" in its contact surface 324, namely three second contact receptacles 326' and a third contact receptacle 326", at the ends of which through openings 328 are also arranged as a connection to the plug-in area 325 of the lower part 32. The third contact 326" is shorter than the three second contacts 326'.

In addition, the lower part 32 has further through-openings 322 which, when assembled with the upper part 31, directly adjoin the through-openings 318 thereof.

In addition to the two locking arms 321 already mentioned, the lower part 32 has positioning recesses 327 which interact with positioning pins 317 of the upper part 31 (not yet shown in this representation) when the upper part 31 is joined to the lower part 32 .

the Figures 3a,b,c show a set of U-shaped contact pins 8, 8', 8" for insertion into the contact carrier 3. In order to fulfill the said bridge function, they are made of metal and are bent into their U-shape.

This set of U-shaped contact pins 8, 8′, 8″ is put together as an example for a specific bridge function and includes three different versions of the U-shaped contact pins 8, 8′, 8″, namely a first contact pin 8 and three second contact pins 8′. and a third contact pin 8".

The U-shaped contact pins 8, 8', 8" each have two mutually parallel plug-side end regions 81, 81', 81", a central region 82, 82', 82" running at right angles thereto and between them a bending region 83, 83', 83 ". The bending area naturally has a certain curvature.

As can easily be seen from the drawing, the various U-shaped contact pins 8, 8', 8" differ from one another in the length of their central area 83, 83', 83" and/or the length of their plug-side end areas 81, 81', 81".

The Indian Figure 3a The first contact pin 8 shown has, compared to the other contact pins 8', 8'', relatively long plug-side end regions 81 because it is intended for use in the upper part 31, while the other contact pins 81', 81" are intended for use in the lower part 32.

The Indian Figure 3b The second contact pin 8' shown has a middle area 82' which is shorter than the middle area 82 of the first contact pin 8 and longer than the middle area 82" of the third contact pin 8".

The Indian 3c The third contact pin 8" shown has a middle area 82" which is shorter than the middle area 8' of the other contact pins 8, 8'.

Of course, a different set of contact pins can be put together in number and shape for a different desired bridge function.

the Figure 4a , b, c show the contact carrier 3 together with the contact pins 8, 8', 8".

the Figure 4a shows this arrangement in an exploded view. The upper part 31 and the lower part 32 are shown separately and each with the U-shaped contact pin(s) 8, 8′, 8″ arranged above them and to be inserted therein.

It is easy to see that the first contact element 8 is intended to be arranged with its central area 82 in the first contact receptacle 316 . Furthermore, it is obvious that the second and third contact element 8', 8" are intended to be arranged with their respective central area 82', 82" in the second and third contact receptacle 316', 316".

Two positioning pins 317 of the upper part 31 can also be seen in this illustration, only one of which is labeled for reasons of clarity. The upper part 31 has two further such positioning pins 317 which are arranged symmetrically thereto and cannot be seen in this illustration. However, it is easy to imagine that when the upper part 31 and lower part 32 are assembled, these four positioning pins 317 are inserted into the corresponding, slightly funnel-shaped positioning recesses 327 of the lower part 32 in order to ensure the exact positioning of the assembled upper 31 and lower part 32.

the Figure 4b shows the upper part 31 and the lower part 32 during the mutual assembly process. The second 8′ and third 8″ contact pins are already inserted into the lower part 32, ie their respective central areas 82′, 82″ are arranged in the second 326′ and third 326″ contact receptacles and their plug-side end areas 81′, 81″ are through the corresponding passage openings 328 and the corresponding hollow-cylindrical projections 323 of the plug-in area 325 of the lower part 32 out.

The first contact element 8 is about to be inserted with its middle part 82 into the first contact receptacle 316 of the upper part 31 . Its end regions 81 on the plug-in side have already passed through the corresponding through-openings 318 in the upper part 31 and are about to be inserted into the further through-openings 322 in the lower part 32 .

In the Figure 4c shows the contact carrier 3 assembled from the upper part 31 and lower part with the U-shaped contact pins 8, 8', 8" inserted therein. The positioning openings 319, 329 of the upper part 31 and lower part 32 come to rest on one another.

the Figure 4d shows the contact carrier 3 in a slightly modified version. The upper part 31 has four feedthrough indentations 310 . The lower part 32 has four latching indentations 320, each with a latching formation 3201 arranged therein.

In addition, the contact carrier 3 has a cover 33. The cover 33 has a rectangular protective surface 334 and fastening tabs 331 which are formed onto the protective surface 334 and which each have a locking window 330.

the Figure 4e shows the assembled contact carrier 3'. The cover 33 is arranged with its protective surface 334 on the upper part 31 and thereby covers the U-shaped contact pin 8 running through the first contact receptacle 316 of the upper part 31. The fastening tabs 331 are guided through the feed-through indentations 310 of the upper part 31 and engage in the latching indentations 320 of the lower part 32 and latch with their latching windows 330 on the latching formations 3201 of the lower part 32. Thus, the cover 33 can be attached to the upper part 31 and to the lower part 32.

The previously mentioned U-shaped contact pin 8, which runs through the upper part 31, could carry a high electrical voltage in some applications, for example. Normally, this would not be dangerous, because the contact carrier 3 is also fastened in the housing cover 10 and the contact pin 8 is therefore not accessible. However, in the event of damage and/or incorrect operation, there could be a risk of contact with this contact pin 8, for example by hand. In the case of the contact carrier 3 ′ in the present embodiment, this is reliably avoided by the electrically insulating protective surface 334 of the cover 33 . In addition, the lid 33 can fasten both itself and the upper part 31 to the lower part 32 in this way. The cover 33 thus has a dual function, since it is used for mechanical attachment and also for electrical safety. The latter applies in particular if the contact carrier 3' is glued in the assembled state.

the Figure 5a shows this arrangement from the direction of the plug-in area 325. In this view, the slot-shaped cross-sectional shape of the positioning opening 319 of the upper part 31 can also be seen particularly well.

the Figure 5b shows the same object in cross-section through a cross-sectional area A. Both the first 8 and a second 8' U-shaped contact pin with the respective plug-side end region 81, 81' can be seen clearly.

the Figure 5c shows the lower part 32 equipped with the corresponding U-shaped contact pins 8', 8'' with a view of its contact surface 4. In this view, the slot-shaped cross-sectional shape of the positioning opening 329 of the lower part 32 can also be seen particularly well. the Figure 5d Figure 12 shows the same article in cross-section through a cross-sectional area B passing through the third contact receptacle 326''.

In the Figure 5e the populated base 32 is shown in a side view.

the Figure 6a shows the housing cover 10 without the contact carrier 3. As a result, its positioning pins 109 and its latching hooks 101 with the latching pins 103 formed thereon can be seen particularly well. The positioning pins 109 have a cylindrical section, ie a section with a circular cross section.

In the Figure 6b This housing cover 10 is shown with the contact carrier 3 inserted therein with the U-shaped contact pins 8, 8', 8" accommodated therein as contact bridges. It can be seen from this view that the positioning opening 329 is in the form of an elongated hole, while the cross section of the positioning pin 109 is circular, at least in its corresponding cylindrical section.

From the Figure 6c the advantage of such a tolerance compensation becomes apparent. If the housing cover 10 is closed, i.e. swiveled onto the add-on housing 12, then the plug-side ends 81 of the U-shaped contact pins 8 are inserted into the socket recesses 228 of the insulating body 2 and experience a longitudinal movement there, which usually occurs together with the simultaneous swiveling movement of the housing cover 10 would cause mechanical stress. These are, however, due to tolerance between the contact carrier 3 and the housing cover 10, namely avoided by the slight tilting movement of the contact carrier 3 relative to the housing cover 10.

the Figure 6d and Fig. 6f show the same arrangement in a front view and a top view.

the Fig. 6f shows this arrangement with the housing cover closed in a lateral cross section through the third contact receptacle 326" of the contact carrier 32. The contact sockets 28 are also shown and labeled for the first time. It can be clearly seen that the third U-shaped contact pin 8" has two opposite contact sockets 28 with electrically connected to each other.

On the cable connection side, the contact sockets 28 can be connected, for example, to electrical components of an electrical system, as a result of which these components are thus short-circuited.

If the third contact pin 8" is now removed from the contact carrier, which can be done with little effort, this bridge is no longer present and the two said electrical components of the electrical system are no longer short-circuited, even when the housing cover 10 is closed. Of course, further short-circuit bridges can be used are retained in the contact carrier 3 and thus continue to short-circuit other electrical components of the system.The operating state of the electrical system can thus be changed in a particularly convenient manner and without the use of further components.

When the housing cover 10 is closed, the correct orientation between the insulating body 2 and the contact carrier 3 is through the L-shaped polarization element 311 and through at least one Polarization bar 211 'of the insulating body 2 guaranteed.

Even if different aspects or features of the invention are shown in combination in the figures, it is obvious to the person skilled in the art--unless stated otherwise--that the combinations shown and discussed are not the only possible ones. In particular, mutually corresponding units or complexes of features from different exemplary embodiments can be exchanged with one another.

Connectors with shorting bridges Reference List

1

connector housing

10

housing cover

101

counter-locking arms

103

latch hook

104

locking pin

109

positioning pin

11

joint

12

add-on housing

14

locking bracket

2

insulator

211, 211'

polarization bar

228

socket recess

28

contact socket

3.3'

contact carrier

31

top

310

feedthrough dent

311

polarizing element

314

contact surface of the upper part

315

Mating area of the upper part

316

first contact

317

positioning pins

318

openings in the upper part

319

Positioning holes of the upper part

32

lower part

320

rest indentation

3201

detent molding

321

locking arms

322

further passage openings

323

hollow-cylindrical projections

324

contact surface of the lower part

325

Plug-in area of the lower part

326', 326"

second, third contact(s)

327

positioning recesses

328

openings in the upper part

329

Positioning holes of the base

33

lid

330

snap window

331

mounting tabs

334

protective surface

8, 8', 8"

first, second, third U-shaped contact pins

81, 81', 81"

plug-side end areas of the U-shaped contact pins

82, 82', 82"

Central areas of the U-shaped contact pins

83, 83', 83"

Bending area of the contact pins

Claims (18)

1. Contact carrier (3) for receiving a plurality of U-shaped contact pins (8, 8', 8") for producing jumpers, wherein the contact carrier (3) is suitable for being releasably fastened in or to a housing cover (10) of a plug-in connector, wherein the contact carrier (3) has polarization means (311) and latching means (321) in order to be polarized relative to an insulating body (2) of the plug-in connector and in order to be latched to or unlatched from the housing cover (10), wherein the polarization means consists in a polarization element (311) integrally formed on the contact carrier (3), wherein the contact carrier (3) is of at least two-part design, wherein the contact carrier has at least two parts, specifically an upper part (31) and a lower part (32) which each have a contact face (314, 324) and, situated opposite, a plug-in region (315, 325), wherein in each case at least one elongate recess is arranged in each of the two contact faces (314, 324) as the contact receptacle (316, 326', 326"), wherein at least two of the contact receptacles (316, 236', 326") differ in length.
2. Contact carrier (3) according to Claim 1, wherein the contact carrier (3) has at least a third part which consists in a cover (33) which has a protective face (334) for covering the at least one contact receptacle (316, 326', 326") of the upper part (31).
3. Contact carrier (3) according to Claim 2, wherein the cover (33) can be attached to the upper part (31) and can be fastened to the lower part (32).
4. Contact carrier (3) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein both the upper part (31) and the lower part (32) have passage openings (318, 328) for contact leadthrough at the ends of each contact receptacle (316, 326' , 326").
5. Contact carrier (3) according to one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein the upper part (31) and the lower part (32) can be joined together, wherein, in the joined-together state, the plug-in region (315) of the upper part (31) is in mechanical contact with the contact face (324) of the lower part (32), and wherein the lower part (32) has further passage openings (322) which, in the joined-together state, adjoin the passage openings (318) of the upper part (31).
6. Contact carrier (3) according to one of Claims 3 to 5, wherein the upper part (31) and the lower part (32) have latching means for latching to and unlatching from one another or at least positioning means (317, 327) for positioning in relation to one another in the joined-together state.
7. Contact carrier (3) according to one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein the lower part (32), in its plug-in region (325) at the said passage openings (322, 328), has hollow-cylindrical integrally formed portions (323) for mechanically guiding and more effectively electrically insulating the contact pins (8, 8', 8").
8. Arrangement comprising the contact carrier (3) according to one of Claims 1 to 7 and a plurality of contact pins (8, 8', 8") arranged therein, wherein the contact pins (8, 8', 8") each have a central region (82, 82', 82") and two insertion-side end regions (81, 81', 81") bent away from the central region (82, 82', 82") at right angles by means of bending regions (83, 83', 83").
9. Arrangement according to Claim 8, wherein at least two of the contact pins (8', 8', 8") differ in terms of the length of their central regions (82, 82', 82") and/or in terms of the length of their insertion-side end regions (81, 81', 81'').
10. Arrangement according to either of Claims 8 and 9, wherein the contact carrier (3) has two parts which can be joined together, specifically the upper part (31) and the lower part (32), which each have the said contact face (314, 324) and, situated opposite, the said plug-in region (315, 325), wherein in each case at least the said elongate recess is arranged in the contact face (314, 324) as a contact receptacle (316, 326', 326"), wherein both the upper part (31) and the lower part (32) have passage openings (318, 328) for contact leadthrough at the ends of each contact receptacle (316, 326', 326"), wherein each of the contact pins (8, 8', 8"), by way of its respective central region (82, 82', 82"), is arranged either in a contact receptacle (316) of the upper part (31) or in a contact receptacle (326', 326") of the lower part (31) and, by way of its insertion-side end regions (81, 81', 81"), is inserted through the passage openings (318, ,328, 322) of the upper part (31) and/or the lower part (32), wherein the insertion-side end regions (81, 81', 81") protrude out of the plug-in region (325) of the lower part (32).
11. Arrangement according to Claim 10, wherein those contact pins (8, 8', 8") of which the central region (82, 82', 82") is arranged in one of the contact receptacles (326', 326") of the lower part (32) are fixed in the contact carrier (3) counter to their insertion direction by joining together the lower part (32) and the upper part (31).
12. System comprising a plug-in connector and an arrangement according to one of Claims 8 to 11, wherein the plug-in connector has the following:

    - an add-on housing (12) with a housing cover (10) held on it such it can be folded open and closed;

    - an insulating body (2) with contact sockets (8, 8', 8") arranged therein,

    - a locking mechanism (14, 104) for locking the housing cover (10) in the folded-closed state;

    wherein the contact carrier (3) is releasably fixed in the housing cover (10).
13. System according to Claim 12, wherein the contact carrier (3) can be latched in the housing cover (10).
14. System according to Claim 13, wherein the contact carrier has latching arms (321) which can be releasably latched to mating latching arms (101) of the housing cover (10).
15. System according to one of Claims 12 to 14, wherein, in the folded-closed state of the housing cover (10), at least one of the U-shaped contact pins (8, 8', 8") is inserted into at least two of the contact sockets (28) in order to electrically conductively connect the said contact sockets to one another.
16. System according to Claim 15, wherein the contact carrier (3), by way of two elongate hole-like positioning openings (319), engages over in each case a cylindrical portion of a positioning peg (109) of the housing cover (10) and in this way is movably fixed in the housing cover (10) within a specified mechanical tolerance range in order to allow the housing cover (10) of the plug-in connector housing (1) to be folded closed without producing undesired mechanical stresses, even while the at least one U-shaped contact pin (8, 8', 8") is being, at least partially, inserted into the at least two contact sockets (28) of the insulating body (2) on the insertion side.
17. Method for changing an operating state of an electrical installation by means of a system according to one of Claims 12 to 16, comprising the following method steps:

    A. unlatching the contact carrier (3) from the housing cover (10) of the plug-in connector;

    B. separating at least two parts (31, 32) of the contact carrier (3) from one another;

    C. removing and/or adding and/or reinserting at least one U-shaped contact pin (8, 8', 8") from the/to the/into the contact carrier (3);

    D. joining together the at least two parts (31, 32) of the contact carrier (3);

    E. latching the contact carrier (3) to the housing cover (10) with defined polarization relative to an insulating body (2) of the plug-in connector.
18. Method according to Claim 17, wherein method step E is followed by the following method steps:

    F. closing the housing cover (10) and in this way automatically establishing an electrically conductive connection between at least two contact sockets (28) by way of at least one U-shaped contact pin (8, 8', 8") arranged in the contact carrier, and in this way

    G. electrically conductively connecting at least two electrical components of the electrical installation, wherein these components are each electrically conductively connected to one of the at least two contact sockets (28).

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