EP3826117A1

EP3826117A1 - Replacement contact-tip for an electrical contact of a connector

Info

Publication number: EP3826117A1
Application number: EP19211188.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Vinayakumar Shettar; Michael Burghard; Harald Ulrich; Stefan Masak
Original assignee: TE Connectivity Germany GmbH; TE Connectivity India Pvt Ltd
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Germany GmbH; TE Connectivity India Pvt Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-25
Filing date: 2019-11-25
Publication date: 2021-05-26
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-25
Also published as: EP3826117B1

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to improve the longevity and maintenance of electrical systems, such as charging systems. The object is achieved by providing a replacement contact-tip (1) configured to be mounted on an end section (74, 90, 112) of an electrical contact (40) of an electrical connector (4), preferably a charging connector for an EV charging system. The replacement contact-tip (1) comprises a, preferably electrically conductive, hollow, cylindrical contact spring (5) and a support casing (6). The support casing (6) may be unitarily combined with the contact spring (5). In particular, the support casing (6) may be shaped complementarily to the contact spring (5) and captively hold the contact spring (5), while the contact spring (5) is accessible for electrical contacting on a radially inwardly facing surface (48) and on a radially outwardly facing surface (50). The contact spring (5) may further have an axial front end (8) and an axial rear end (10), aligned with the axial front end (8) in an axial direction (12) of the contact spring (5), wherein the axial front end (8) is at least partly covered by the support casing (6). Thereby, the contact spring (5) may serve as an easily exchangeable wear part that prevents the surface of the electrical contact (40) from being exposed to frequent and/or excessive wear. The object is further achieved by a contact assembly (2) comprising the inventive replacement contact-tip (1) as well as by an electrical connector (4) comprising the inventive contact assembly (2) with the inventive replacement contact-tip (1).

Description

Technical Field to which the Invention relates

The present invention relates to a replacement contact-tip and, more specifically, to a replacement contact-tip for an electrical contact, in particular an electrical contact of a connector, e.g. a charging connector for electric vehicles (EV).

Background Art

In the field of electrical engineering in general and for electromobility in particular, connectors of electrical systems are expected to maintain high functionality throughout their entire service life, while often being exposed to dirt, dust, salt, gases and other environmental strains during their normal use. Contact elements of such connectors represent especially sensitive parts, as they need to fulfil specific electrical requirements in order to guarantee said functionality of the entire electrical system.
Contact elements are usually made of copper or copper alloys and plated with at least one layer of e.g. nickel, silver or comparable plating materials for the reduction of the electric resistance at contact points with complementary contact elements. The above-mentioned environmental strains impair the surface quality of the contact elements, which leads to a higher contact resistance. The result may be an unwanted heat-up of the connector. If the connector of the electrical system is used as a charging connector for a charging system of an electric vehicle, unacceptably long durations of the charging process due to current restrictions by the charging system's temperature control may result.
Further, impaired contact surfaces often exhibit wear marks, which may be transferred from one contact element to any other contact element coming into physical contact with the impaired contact surface. Thus, wear marks tend to rapidly spread amongst the charging system infrastructure by continuously creating newly impaired contact surfaces.
Therefore, it is desirable to maintain the surface of electrical contacts free of wear marks and with an intact plating layer.

Technical Problem to be Solved

The object of the present invention is to improve longevity and maintenance of electrical systems in general, and of charging systems in particular.

Disclosure of Invention

The problem is solved by providing a replacement contact-tip configured to be mounted on an end section of an electrical contact, preferably of an electrical connector, in particular an EV charging connector. The replacement contact-tip comprises a, preferably electrically conductive, contact spring and a, preferably electrically insulated, support casing.The support casing is unitarily combined with the contact spring, preferably through a mechanical interlock. In particular, the support casing may be shaped complementarily to the contact spring and captively hold the contact spring, while a radially inwardly facing surface of the contact spring and a radially outwardly facing surface of the contact spring are accessible for being electrically contacted. The contact spring further has an axial front end and an axial rear end, aligned with the axial front end in an axial direction of the contact spring, wherein the axial front end is at least partly covered by the support casing, preferably in the axial direction.
The above-mentioned solution is advantageous, since the accessible surfaces of the contact spring may be configured to function as electrical contact surfaces for connecting the electrical contact, the end section to which the replacement contact-tip is mounted, to a complementary contact. In particular, the contact spring may serve as a wear part that prevents the surface of the electrical contact from exposure to frequent and/or excessive wear. This is especially advantageous with respect to the insertion process, as tips of electrical contacts typically undergo increased wear and may thus need frequent replacement.
In addition, such a replacement contact-tip may be pre-assembled and provided as part of a repair kit, thus facilitating the replacement process and saving time during maintenance.
The above solution may be further improved by adding one or more of the following optional features. Each of the following optional features is advantageous on its own and may be combined independently with any other optional feature.
According to a first embodiment, the support casing may be made of an electrically insulating material. For example, the support casing may be an injection-molded part made of electrically insulating resin. This allows for relatively cheap manufacturing of the support casing, while simultaneously providing a relatively lightweight part.
According to another embodiment, the support casing may extend from the front axial end towards and beyond the rear axial end of the contact spring. Thus, the support casing may cover the contact spring along the entire length of the contact spring and serve as a protective packaging for the contact spring, e.g. during transport or storage of the replacement contact-tip.
According to yet another embodiment, the contact spring may be hollow and preferably of cylindrical shape. The radially inwardly facing surface of the contact spring may be an inner cylindrical surface and the radially outwardly facing surface of the contact spring may be an outer cylindrical surface. Alternatively, the contact spring may be of a cuboidal, prismatic, spherical or semi-spherical shape. In particular, at least one cross-section of the contact spring perpendicular to the axial direction may be one of annular, circular, oval, rectangular, square and polygonal or of any other geometric shape, which is one of open and closed in a circumferential direction with respect to the axial direction. In particular, the contact spring may be a round or flat contact spring. Along the entire length of the contact spring, the contact spring may have a uniform cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction or the cross-section perpendicular to the axial direction may vary between the above-mentioned cross-sectional shapes. This is advantageous, as the contact spring may be formed according to the application in which the replacement contact tip is to be used, thus improving the applicability of the present invention. In the following, when the term "annular" is used, it is to be understood as relating to a ring-like structure extending in the circumferential direction, which may have one of the above-mentioned cross-sectional shapes.
In yet another embodiment, the radially outwardly facing surface and the radially inwardly facing surface may be the front side and back side of one and the same geometric body in order to shorten the transmission distance of an electric current conducted within the contact spring. By way of example, the contact spring may comprise a plurality of curved, preferably S-shaped, flexible spring fingers, which extend from the axial front end to the axial rear end. The plurality of flexible spring fingers may be arranged along a closed figure in a circumferential direction of the contact spring. Each spring finger may be monolithically connected on both of its ends to at least one adjacent spring finger, thus creating a substantially crown-shaped contact spring.
Further, the radially inwardly facing surface may comprise the radially elastic inner surface of each spring finger and the radially outwardly facing surface may comprise the radially elastic outer surface of each spring finger. Thus, the flexible spring fingers may exert a spring force in order to establish improved contact with the electrical contact and the complementary contact.
Additionally, the contact spring may be substantially cylindrical and may exhibit a U-shaped profile in at least one of a radial and longitudinal cross-section. For this, the spring fingers may be gradually bent at an angle between 90° and 180°. Due to the U-shaped profile, the total available contact surface of the contact spring may be increased. Likewise, the mechanical stability of the contact spring may be increased.
Optionally, the contact spring may be formed as a double walled cylinder with an annular circumferential slot, preferably an annular circumferential slot of constant width, and wherein the annular circumferential slot may be configured to receive at least partly a tubular end section of a socket-shaped contact element, as will be described in detail further below.
In another embodiment, the contact spring may have at least one latching cam, preferably multiple latching cams, on the radially outwardly facing surface. The latching cams may extend obliquely, preferably at least partly in the axial direction of the contact spring. Further, the support casing may comprise at least one latching groove, preferably multiple latching grooves, formed on an inner surface of the support casing, the inner surface facing the contact spring and the latching grooves being configured to engage in a latching engagement with the at least one latching cam of the contact spring. Thus, a relatively easy to assemble interlock between the contact spring and the support casing may be achieved.
According to another embodiment, the support casing may comprise at least one, preferably mechanical, retention element for being mechanically secured to the electrical contact and/or to a connector housing, in which the electrical contact is held. Thus, the entire replacement contact-tip may be reliably secured to the electrical contact and/or to the connector housing. In particular, the retention element may establish one of a bayonet connection, latching connection and screw connection in order to prevent unwanted or unintended loss of the replacement contact-tip.
Optionally, the at least one mechanical retention element may be arranged beyond the rear axial end of the contact spring. In particular, the at least one mechanical retention element may surpass the rear axial end of the contact spring in a direction facing away from the front axial end. This allows for the replacement contact-tip to be secured in an arbitrary position, which is not limited by the position of the contact spring.
According to another embodiment, the support casing may comprise at least one opening with a chamfered edge. In particular, a surface of the support casing, which surrounds the at least one opening, may be a tapered surface creating a lead-in slant. Preferably, the at least one opening may be a lead-through opening with lead-in slants on both ends. The lead-through opening may be connected to a cavity, in which the contact spring is interlockingly received. The cavity may be formed complementary to the contact spring. In particular, the cavity may have an inner diameter, which is equivalent to or at least larger than an outer diameter of the contact spring. The lead-through opening may further comprise at least one shoulder section with an inner diameter larger than an inner diameter of the contact spring, but smaller than the outer diameter of the contact spring. The at least one shoulder section may connect the cavity with the lead-in slant. Opposite to the at least one shoulder section, the lead-through opening may comprise at least one insertion section having an inner diameter equivalent to or at least larger than the outer diameter of the contact spring. The at least one insertion section may connect the cavity with the other lead-in slant.
The chamfered edge may aid the insertion process of the contact spring into the at least one opening further facilitating the above-mentioned pre-assembly process. Preferably, the contact spring is inserted into the insertion section of the support casing with its front axial end first and pushed inside the support casing until the contact spring enters the cavity. Once completely inside the cavity, the front axial end abuts against an end face of the at least one shoulder section. If the contact spring is provided with latching cams, as is described above, the latching cams may engage in a latching engagement with the corresponding latching grooves of the support casing.
Alternatively, the support casing comprises two halves, which jointly form the support casing, and wherein the two halves comprise latching elements for being mechanically fastened to one another. In this embodiment, the support casing comprises a lead-through opening with a cavity and at least two shoulder sections on both sides of the cavity. This embodiment is advantageous, since it allows the contact spring to be held captively without requiring the contact spring to have any particular retention elements. More specifically, the contact spring may be inserted into the cavity of one of the two halves, preferably retained between the two shoulder sections of one of the two halves, whereafter the other half of the two halves may be fastened to sandwich the contact spring in between. Thus, a relatively simple design of the contact spring may be utilized.
In yet another embodiment, the support casing may be a cap, covering the front axial end of the contact spring. Furthermore, the front axial end may be received within an annular groove of the cap. This allows the support casing to be designed in a relatively simple manner, while still achieving an interlock between the support casing and the contact spring. Further, the cap may serve as a protective measure for the front axial end of the contact spring.
The above problem may also be solved by a contact assembly comprising an electrical contact adapted to be mated with a mating contact along a mating direction, wherein a replacement contact-tip according to any one of the above described embodiments is removably mounted on an end section of the electrical contact facing in the mating direction, and wherein the electrical contact further comprises a joining section at an end opposite to the end section for connecting an electric element thereto. In particular, the contact element is configured to be one of crimped, soldered and welded to a main conductor, e.g. a main conductor of an EV charging plug, at the joining section.
By mounting the replacement contact-tip on the end section of the electrical contact, the contact spring may establish an electrical connection between the electrical contact and the mating contact, mated with the electrical contact along the mating direction. Thus, the contact spring may serve as a wear part protecting the surface of the electrical contact. Preferably, the replacement contact-tip may be non-destructively and reversibly removable from the electrical contact without damage or impairment to the electrical contact. Thereby, the replacement contact-tip may be replaced without the need to interrupt the connection at the joining section.
In one possible embodiment of the contact assembly, the electrical contact may be a socket-shaped female contact element extending along the mating direction having a tubular end section configured to at least partly receive a cylindrical end section of a pin-shaped male contact element. This embodiment is especially favorable if the mating contact, to which the electrical contact is to be mated, is a pin-shaped male contact element.
Optionally, the contact spring may comprise an annular slot and wherein the tubular end section of the socket-shaped female contact element is received within the annular slot. In this embodiment, the annular slot may be formed by a double-walled, cylindrical contact spring comprising multiple spring fingers bent by 180°. By mounting the contact spring on the tubular end section of the socket-shaped contact element, the spring fingers may be brought into a pre-stressed state, in which a part of the spring finger situated inside of the socket-shaped contact element may exert an outwardly directed spring force, while another part of the spring finger situated outside of the socket-shaped contact element may bear against the outer circumferential surface of the socket-shaped contact element, thus additionally pressing the inside spring fingers against the inner circumferential surface of the socket-shaped contact element. Resulting in increased contact force.
Alternatively, the electrical contact may be a pin-shaped male contact element extending along the mating direction having a cylindrical end section. Preferably, the support casing is designed as a cap. This embodiment may be utilized if the mating contact, to which the electrical contact is to be mated, is a socket-shaped female contact element having a tubular end section, wherein the tubular end section is configured to at least partly receive the cylindrical end section of the pin-shaped male contact element.
The above problem may further be solved by an electrical connector, such as a charging connector, comprising a contact assembly according to any one of the above embodiments, a conductor, and a connector housing. More specifically, the contact assembly may be retained within the connector housing, while the electrical contact is electrically connected to the conductor at the joining section. The replacement contact-tip is configured to be attached to and detached from the electrical connector independently of the electrical contact.
Preferably, the replacement contact-tip is configured to be attached to the connector housing by hand and without the use of tools. Moreover, the replacement contact-tip may be configured to be detached from the connector housing by hand and without the use of tools as well. Furthermore, the replacement contact-tip may be configured to be attached and detached, while the electrical connection between the main conductor and the electrical contact is maintained or at least not physically separated.
The inventive electrical connector is advantageous, since the individual components constituting the inventive electrical connector exhibit an increased average durability. More specifically, the replacement contact-tip may be readily replaced with only limited effort, while the rest of the components constituting the inventive electrical connector may be used continually. Above all, the inventive electrical connector may be used for an increased number of mating cycles before rewiring of the conductor is necessary.
In particular, the electrical connector according to the invention may be a charging plug or charging connector of a charging system. It is however to be understood that the applicability of the present invention is not limited to charging systems, but may also extend to all types of electrical connector of electrical systems, which have electrical contacts that are subject to increased wear due to frequent usage and/or harsh environment strains.
In the following, exemplary embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the drawings. The shown and described embodiments are for explanatory purposes only. The combination of features shown in the embodiments may be changed according to the foregoing description. For example, a feature which is not shown in an embodiment but described above may be added if the technical effect associated with this feature is beneficial for a particular application. Vice versa, a feature shown as part of an embodiment may be omitted as described above, if the technical effect associated with this feature is not needed in a particular application.
In the drawings, elements that correspond to each other with respect to function and/or structure have been provided with the same reference numeral.
In the drawings,

Fig. 1: shows a schematic rendition of an exploded view of a replacement contact-tip according to one possible embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 2: shows a schematic rendition of a sectional view of the replacement contact-tip according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 3: shows a schematic rendition of a perspective view of a first assembly process step of the replacement contact-tip according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 4: shows a schematic rendition of a perspective view of a second assembly process step of the replacement contact-tip according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 5: shows a schematic rendition of a perspective view of a third assembly process step of the replacement contact-tip according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1;
Fig. 6: shows a schematic rendition of a partially exploded view of a replacement contact-tip according to another possible embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 7: shows a schematic rendition of a sectional view of the replacement contact-tip according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 6;
Fig. 8: shows a schematic rendition of a sectional view of a contact assembly according to one possible embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 9: shows a schematic rendition of a sectional view of an electrical connector according to one possible embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 10: shows a schematic rendition of an exploded view of the electrical connector according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 9;
Fig. 11: shows a schematic rendition of a sectional view of an electrical connector according to another possible embodiment of the present disclosure;
Fig. 12: shows a schematic rendition of a sectional view of the electrical connector according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 12 and a complementary male mating contact;
Fig. 13: shows a schematic rendition of a perspective view of a contact assembly according to yet another possible embodiment of the present disclosure; and
Fig. 14: shows a schematic rendition of a detail of a sectional view of the contact assembly according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 13 and a complementary female mating contact.

First, the structure of possible embodiments of a replacement contact-tip 1 according to the present invention is explained with reference to the exemplary embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 7. Further below, Figs. 8 to 14 are used for explaining the structure of possible embodiments of a contact assembly 2 and an electrical connector 4 according to the present invention.
Fig. 1 shows an exploded view of the replacement contact-tip 1 according to one possible embodiment of the present disclosure, the replacement contact-tip 1 comprising an electrically conductive, hollow, cylindrical contact spring 5 and a support casing 6. The contact spring 5 may have an axial front end 8 and an axial rear end 10, aligned with the axial front end 8 in an axial direction 12 of the contact spring 5, wherein the axial front end 8 is at least partly covered by the support casing 6 in the axial direction 12. In the exemplary embodiment of Fig. 1, the contact spring 5 is shown as a hollow cylinder with a round annular cross-section. Alternatively, the cross-section may be one of rectangular, oval and polygonal or may exhibit any other geometric shape.
The support casing 6 may be made of an electrically insulating material. In particular, the support casing 6 may be manufactured by injection-molding of an electrically insulating resin. As can be seen in the sectional view of Fig. 2, the support casing 6 may be unitarily combined with the contact spring 5, preferably through a mechanical interlock. In particular, an internal cavity 14 of the support casing 6 may be shaped complementarily to the contact spring 5 and may captively hold the contact spring 5. For this, the support casing 6 may extend from the front axial end 8 towards and beyond the rear axial end 10 of the contact spring 5. In particular, the support casing 6 may cover the contact spring 5 along the entire length of the contact spring 5 and serve as a protective packaging 16 for the contact spring 5.
The support casing 6 may further comprise at least one opening 18 with a chamfered edge 20. For this, a surface of the support casing 6, which surrounds the at least one opening 18, may be a tapered surface 22 creating a lead-in slant 24. As can be further seen in Fig. 2, the at least one opening 18 may be a lead-through opening 26 with lead-in slants 24a, 24b at both ends. The lead-through opening 26 may be connected to the internal cavity 14, in which the contact spring 5 is captively held.
As already described above, the internal cavity 14 may be formed complementary to the contact spring 5. In particular, the internal cavity 14 may have an inner diameter which is equivalent to or at least larger than an outer diameter of the contact spring 5. The lead-through opening 26 may further comprise at least one shoulder section 28 with an inner diameter larger than an inner diameter of the contact spring 5, but smaller than the outer diameter of the contact spring 5. The at least one shoulder section 28 may connect the internal cavity 14 with one of the lead-in slants 24a. Opposite to the at least one shoulder section 28, the lead-through opening 26 may comprise at least one insertion section 30 having an inner diameter equivalent to or at least larger than the outer diameter of the contact spring 5 and connecting the internal cavity 14 with the other lead-in slant 24b.
Figs. 1 to 5 show an exemplary embodiment of the support casing 6 comprising two halves 32, 32a, 32b, which jointly form the support casing 6, and wherein the two halves 32a, 32b comprise latching elements 34 for being mechanically fastened to one another. In this embodiment, the lead-through opening 26 comprises two shoulder sections 28 on both sides of the internal cavity 14. The contact spring 5 may be inserted between the two shoulder sections 28 of one of the two halves 32a according to the configuration shown in Fig. 4. Subsequently, the other of the two halves 32b may be fastened by the latching elements 34, resulting in a pre-assembled replacement contact-tip 1 as shown in Fig. 5.
Further, the support casing 6 may comprise multiple mechanical retention elements 36 for being mechanically secured to an electrical contact 40 and/or to a connector housing 42, in which the electrical contact 40 is held. In the shown exemplary embodiment of Fig. 2, the mechanical retention elements 36 are configured to establish a bayonet connection 44 with the connector housing 42. The bayonet connection 44 is also disclosed in Fig. 9.
While being captively held by the support casing 6, a radially inwardly facing surface 48 and a radially outwardly facing surface 50 of the contact spring 5 may be accessible for being electrically contacted. This can be seen in Fig. 2.
The radially outwardly facing surface 50 and the radially inwardly facing surface 48 may be the front side 52 and back side 54 of one and the same geometric body 56, respectively. In particular, the contact spring 5 may comprise a plurality of flexible spring fingers 58, which are partially curved into an S-shape 60 and extend from the axial front end 8 to the axial rear end 10. The flexible spring fingers 58 may further be arranged along a closed figure in a circumferential direction of the contact spring 5. Each spring finger 58a may be monolithically connected on both of its ends to at least one adjacent spring finger 58b. Further, the radially inwardly facing surface 48 may comprise the radially elastic inner surface 62 of each spring finger 58 and the radially outwardly facing surface 50 may comprise the radially elastic outer surface 64 of each spring finger 58.
Additionally, the contact spring 5 may exhibit a U-shaped profile 66 in a radial cross-section. For this, the individual spring fingers 58 may be gradually bent backwards at a 180° angle. Alternatively, the contact spring 5 may exhibit a U-shaped profile in a longitudinal cross-section.
Further, the contact spring 5 may be formed as a double walled cylinder 68 with an annular circumferential slot 70. The annular circumferential slot 70 may exhibit a constant width and may be configured to at least partly receive a tubular end section 74 of a socket-shaped contact element 76, as is shown in Fig. 8.
Fig. 6 shows another possible embodiment of the replacement contact-tip 1. The contact spring 5 may have multiple latching cams 78 on the radially outwardly facing surface 50. The latching cams 78 may extend obliquely and in the axial direction 12. Further, the support casing 6 may comprise multiple latching grooves 80, formed on an inner surface of the internal cavity 14 of the support casing 6. The latching grooves 80 may be configured to engage in a latching engagement with the plurality of latching cams 78 of the contact spring 5, as can be seen in the sectional view of Fig. 7.
Optionally, the mechanical retention elements 36 of the support casing 6 may be arranged beyond the rear axial end 10 of the contact spring 5. In particular, the mechanical retention element 36 may surpass the rear axial end 10 of the contact spring 5 in a direction facing away from the front axial end 8. In the shown exemplary embodiment of Figs. 6 and 7, the mechanical retention elements 36 are configured to establish a latching connection 46 with the connector housing 42. The latching connection 46 is disclosed in Fig. 11.
According to the exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 6, the contact spring 5 may be inserted into the insertion section 30 of the support casing 6 with its front axial end 8 first. The contact spring 5 may then be pushed inside the support casing 6 until the contact spring 5 enters the internal cavity 14. Fig. 7 shows the contact spring 5 positioned completely inside the internal cavity 14 with the front axial end 8 of the contact spring 5 abutting against an end face 82 of the shoulder section 28 and the latching cams 78 engaged in a latching engagement with the corresponding latching grooves 80 of the support casing 6.
The replacement contact-tip 1 may be pre-assembled according to the steps shown in Figs. 3 to 5, or alternatively according to the steps shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The pre-assembled replacement contact-tip 1 may be provided as part of a repair kit 84.
Fig. 8 shows a sectional view of a possible embodiment of the contact assembly 2 comprising an electrical contact 40 adapted to be mated with a mating contact 86 along a mating direction 88 (shown in Fig. 12), wherein a replacement contact-tip 1 according to the exemplary embodiment of Figs. 1 to 5 is removably mounted on an end section 90 of the electrical contact 40 facing in the mating direction 88. The electrical contact 40 further comprises a joining section 92 at an end opposite to the end section 90 for being connected to an electric element (not shown) by crimping. Alternatively, the contact element 40 may be soldered or welded to the electric element at the joining section 92.
As can further be seen in Fig. 8, the electrical contact 40 may be a socket-shaped female contact element 76 extending along the mating direction 88 and having a tubular end section 74. In particular, the tubular end section 74 may be received within the annular circumferential slot 70 of the contact spring 5. Preferably, the spring fingers 58 may be brought into a pre-stressed state, in which a part 94 of the spring finger situated inside of the socket-shaped contact element 76 may exert an outwardly directed spring force on an inner circumferential surface 96 of the socket-shaped contact element 76, while another part 98 of the spring finger situated outside of the socket-shaped contact element 76 may press against an outer circumferential surface 100 of the socket-shaped contact element 76, thus additionally pressing the inside spring fingers 94 against the inner circumferential surface 96 of the socket-shaped contact element 76. In this mounted state of the replacement contact-tip 1, the contact spring 5 may establish an electrical connection 102 between the electrical contact 40 and the mating contact 86, mated with the electrical contact 40 along the mating direction 88. This can be seen in Figs. 12 and 14.
Figs. 9 to 12 show possible exemplary embodiments of the electrical connector 4.
In Figs 9 and 10, the electrical connector 4 is shown as a charging connector comprising the contact assembly 2 according to the embodiment disclosed in Fig. 8, a conductor (not shown), and a connector housing 42. In particular, the contact assembly 2 may be retained within the connector housing 42, while the electrical contact 40 is electrically connected to the conductor at the joining section 92. For this retention, the electrical contact may comprise a retention section 104 arranged between the end section 90 and the joining section 92 of the electrical contact 40.
The retention section 104 may comprise retention features 106 for engaging mechanically with the connector housing 42.
The electrical contact 40 may be inserted into the connector housing 42 from a distal end 108 of the connector housing, whereafter the replacement contact-tip 1 may be inserted into the connector housing 42 from a proximal end 110, opposite of the distal end 108. Further, the replacement contact-tip 1 may be attached to the electrical connector 4 by means of the mechanical retention elements 36 of the support casing 6, which establish the bayonet connection 44 shown in Fig. 9.
Alternatively, the latching connection 46 may be utilized to attach the replacement contact-tip 1 to the electrical connector 4. The latching connection 46 may be established by means of the mechanical retention elements 36 of the support casing 6 as is shown in Fig. 11.
The electrical connector 4 may receive a cylindrical end section 112 of a pin-shaped male contact element 114 within the tubular end section 74 of the socket-shaped female contact element 76 of the contact assembly as is shown in Fig. 12.
According to another exemplary embodiment, the support casing 6 may be a cap 116, covering the front axial end 8 of the contact spring 5. Furthermore, the front axial end 8 may be received within an annular groove 118 of the cap 116. Figs. 13 and 14 show another possible embodiment of the contact assembly comprising the cap 116 as the support casing 6 and the pin-shaped male contact element 114 as the electrical contact 40, to which the replacement contact-tip 1 is mounted. In particular, the pin-shaped male contact element 114 may comprise the cylindrical end section 112 and may extend along the mating direction 88. The cap 116 may be fastened to the cylindrical end section 112 of the pin-shaped contact element 114 by means of a screw connection 120.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

1: replacement contact-tip
2: contact assembly
4: electrical connector
5: contact spring
6: support casing
8: axial front end
10: axial rear end
12: axial direction
14: internal cavity
16: protective packaging
18: opening
20: chamfered edge
22: tapered surface
24, 24a, 24b: lead-in slant
26: lead-through opening
28: shoulder section
30: insertion section
32, 32a, 32b: halves
34: latching element
36: retention element
40: electrical contact
42: connector housing
44: bayonet connection
46: latching connection
48: inwardly facing surface
50: outwardly facing surface
52: front side
54: back side
56: geometric body
58, 58a, 58b: flexible spring finger
60: S-shape
62: radially elastic inner surface
64: radially elastic outer surface
66: U-shaped profile
68: double walled cylinder
70: annular circumferential slot
74: tubular end section
76: socket-shaped contact element
78: latching cam
80: latching groove
82: end face
84: repair kit
86: mating contact
88: mating direction
90: end section
92: joining section
94: part
96: inner circumferential surface
98: part
100: outer circumferential surface
102: electrical connection
104: retention section
106: retention feature
108: distal end
110: proximal end
112: cylindrical end section
114: pin-shaped male contact element
116: cap
118: annular groove
120: screw connection

Claims

A replacement contact-tip (1) configured to be mounted on an end section (74, 90, 112) of an electrical contact (40), the replacement contact-tip (1) comprising a contact spring (5) and a support casing (6), the support casing (6) being unitarily combined with the contact spring (5), the support casing (6) holding the contact spring (5), the contact spring (5) being accessible for electrical contacting on an inwardly facing surface (48) and an outwardly facing surface (50), and the contact spring (5) further having an axial front end (8) and an axial rear end (10), wherein the axial front end (8) is at least partly covered by the support casing (6).
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to claim 1, wherein the support casing (6) is made of an electrically insulating material.
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the support casing (6) extends beyond the rear axial end (10) of the contact spring (5).
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to any one of clams 1 to 3, wherein the contact spring (5) exhibits a U-shaped profile (66) in at least one of a radial and longitudinal cross-section.
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the contact spring (5) is formed as a double walled cylinder (68) with an annular circumferential slot (70).
A replacement contact-tip (1), according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the support casing (6) comprises at least one retention element (36).
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to claim 6, wherein the at least one retention element (36) is arranged beyond the rear axial end (10) of the contact spring (5).
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the support casing (6) comprises at least one opening (18) with a chamfered edge (20).
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the support casing (6) comprises two halves (32, 32a, 32b), which jointly form the support casing (6), and wherein the two halves (32, 32a, 32b) comprise latching elements (34) for being fastened to one another.
A replacement contact-tip (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the support casing (6) is a cap (116), covering the front axial end (8) of the contact spring (5).
A contact assembly (2) comprising an electrical contact (40) adapted to be mated with a mating contact (86) along a mating direction (88), wherein a replacement contact-tip (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is removably mounted on an end section (74, 90, 112) of the electrical contact (40) facing in the mating direction (88), and wherein the electrical contact (40) further comprises a joining section (92) at an end opposite to the end section (74, 90, 112) for connecting an electric element thereto.
A contact assembly (2) according to claim 11, wherein the electrical contact (40) is a socket-shaped female contact element (76) extending along the mating direction (88), and the end section (74) is at least partly tubular.
A contact assembly (2) according to claim 12, wherein the contact spring (5) comprises an annular circumferential slot (70) and wherein the tubular end section (74) of the socket-shaped female contact element (76) is received within the annular circumferential slot (70).
A contact assembly (2) according to claim 11, wherein the electrical contact (40) is a pin-shaped male contact element (114) extending along the mating direction (88), and the end section (112) is cylindrical.
An electrical connector (4) comprising a contact assembly (2) according to any one of claims 11 to 14, a conductor, and a connector housing (42), wherein the electrical contact (40) is electrically connected to the conductor at the joining section (92), and wherein the contact assembly (2) is retained within the connector housing (42), and wherein the replacement contact-tip (1) is configured to be attached to and detached from the electrical connector (4) independently of the electrical contact (40).