EP3895256A1

EP3895256A1 - Round plug having locking system

Info

Publication number: EP3895256A1
Application number: EP19835601.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Martin LÜCKEMEIER
Original assignee: Harting Electronics GmbH and Co KG
Current assignee: Harting Electronics GmbH and Co KG
Priority date: 2018-12-11
Filing date: 2019-12-03
Publication date: 2021-10-20
Anticipated expiration: 2039-12-03
Also published as: US11611174B2; CN113196582A; EP3895256B1; US20220013956A1; DE102018131720A1; KR20210091343A; WO2020119854A1; KR102640213B1

Abstract

In order to provide a round plug system having particularly stable combined screwed connection and push-pull latching even if the mating connector (2) is incorporated in a recessed manner as a built-in socket in a device housing wall, the following is proposed: on the round plug (1), the outwardly directed detent hooks (13, 513) are arranged between the plug-in region (14, 74) and the contact carrier portion (10) of the insulating body (100) or the base portion (70) of the round plug housing (700). The mating connector (2) has, on the plug-in side of its threaded portion (23), an inwardly directed circumferential or interrupted detent lug (22). The detent arms (13, 513) therefore do not need to reach through the threaded portion (23). The detent arms (13, 513) can therefore be made particularly strong, and the inner thread can be continuous (not segmented). The retaining forces of the locking/screwing are thus very high, and the detent arms (13) for example can be integrally moulded on a plastic insulation body (100), and thus be formed in one piece therewith, for simplified production. Operation and manufacture are significantly simplified by the invention.

Description

Circular connector with locking

description

The invention is based on a circular connector according to the

Preamble of independent claim 1.

In addition, the invention is based on a mating connector according to the preamble of independent claim 14.

Furthermore, the invention is based on a system from

Circular connector according to claim 1 and the mating connector according to claim 14.

Furthermore, the invention is based on an alternative

Circular connectors according to the generic term of the independent

Claim 16.

In addition, the invention is based on a system of the alternative circular connector according to claim 16 and the mating connector according to claim 14.

Circular connectors of this type and associated mating connectors are required in order to be plugged together for power and / or signal transmission and to be securely screwed together and / or otherwise locked together to ensure the secure plug connection. It is clear to the person skilled in the art that the mating connector, too, due to its screwability and plug compatibility with the said

Circular connectors also belong to the genus of circular connectors. For the sake of better distinction, however, it is referred to below only as a “mating connector”. State of the art

In the prior art, a connector and a corresponding plug-in system with a segmented thread and a push-pull locking mechanism are known from the document DE 10 2015 015 202 B4. It is disclosed to design the thread in such a way that at least one latching means of a complementary plug element can be inserted into at least one threadless section of the plug connector.

Numerous tests and simulations have shown that the holding force of the thread with this design is not sufficient for many applications. Furthermore, the grooves are in the thread-free

Sections are expensive to manufacture and correspondingly expensive. In addition, undesirably high unlocking forces occur in many cases during the unlocking process. A coding against that

Mating connectors are made more difficult, which results in the need for very precise production and thus undesirably high costs.

Task

The object of the invention is to improve the holding force of such a connector.

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

A circular connector has an insulating body with a

Contact carrier section and a hollow cylindrical plug area. Radially movable latching arms are arranged on the outside of the contact carrier section, namely attached to them. In particular, the locking arms are held thereon elastically. At their free ends, the locking arms have radially outwardly directed locking hooks for locking in a mating connector. Subsequently, they have an outward attack slope.

Furthermore, the circular connector has an unlocking sleeve which engages around the contact carrier section. In order to cooperate with the said bevels for the purpose of unlocking the circular connector from the mating connector, the unlocking sleeve is slidably held on the insulating body along the direction of insertion. In particular, said hollow cylindrical plug-in region can be molded onto the contact carrier section on the plug side.

According to the invention, the latching hooks are arranged on the insulating body in the vicinity of the transition from the plug-in area to the contact carrier section.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

The contact carrier section of the circular connector usually serves to hold plug contacts at their cable connection area. Its hollow cylindrical plug area, in which the plug areas of the

Plug contacts usually protrude into the socket

Connect with the mating connector.

A particularly great additional advantage of the invention is that manufacturing can be simplified and manufacturing costs can be reduced. Finally, it is very complex in the prior art to introduce the grooves into the thread-free areas of the internal thread of the mating connector, so that the latching arms can be pushed through. According to the invention, this is not necessary. In connection with this, the coding is also compared to the mating connector simplified, which is advantageously a simplified and thus

cheaper manufacturing is possible.

A particular advantage of this circular connector is that its locking pins are directed radially outwards, ie away from each other. The housing of the mating connector can thus be designed as a built-in housing and can, for example, in one

Side part of an electrical device must be recessed. Such a recessed installation is common in many applications and sometimes requested by customers for reasons of compatibility. The latching pins of the circular connector can thus latch on the inside of a circumferential or interrupted plug-side, inwardly directed latching lug of the mating connector housing. In this way, the mating connector can be a continuous, i.e. have non-segmented, internal thread that increases stability and

Reliability of this screw connection is used. At the same time, the

Circular connectors, but also optionally allow the said (so-called "push-pull") locking. Since the latching hooks are arranged on the insulating body near the transition from the plug-in area to the contact carrier section, they need the internal thread of the mating connector

Not penetrating plug-in process and can therefore advantageously be carried out particularly short and / or particularly strong and alternatively or additionally, a particularly large number may be present.

Another additional advantage of the invention is that a seal, for example a sealing ring, in particular an O-ring, or an injection molded seal, despite this generic combined snap-action connection, can have a radially sealing effect, i.e. it is compressed radially in the plugging process instead of - as in State of the art - to be compressed in the direction of insertion, and can therefore seal the connector system particularly well. In particular, therefore, only one seal, for example only one sealing ring, is necessary, which represents a considerable structural advantage over the prior art for this genus. The seal can on

Circular connectors, in particular at its plug area, preferably at the contact carrier section end of the hollow cylindrical plug area. At this point, the insulating body can preferably have a groove for fastening the sealing ring.

Another advantage is that, due to the high holding force of this design, the material can be somewhat less hard / stable in an advantageous embodiment, which has a positive effect on the manufacturing technology, the tolerances and thus also on the manufacturing price.

The latching arms can be made in one piece with the insulating body and molded onto the outside of the contact carrier section. This enables simple mechanical production in the

Injection molding process. In particular, the insulating body can be formed from plastic. Then in addition to their shape, you can also use the

Composition of the plastic, the elasticity of the locking arms can be adjusted.

In a preferred embodiment, the insulating body can thus be completely or only partially, namely at least in one

Connection section in which the locking arms on the

Contact carrier section are attached, consist of an elastic plastic. As a result, he can particularly advantageously ensure the necessary movable, namely in this case elastic, connection between the locking arms and the contact carrier section. This

Design advantageously allows automated production with little effort and continues to follow a philosophy that pretends that the connector is made largely of plastic / To manufacture plastic parts, which among other things serves to simplify the automated manufacturing processes and to save costs.

For this purpose, the elastic plastic can be a thermoplastic or a thermoset or elastomer.

The internal thread of the mating connector is continuous, that is not segmented, and therefore has a comparatively high holding force. The locking arms can be made comparatively short and therefore strong, since they form only a short lever. Furthermore, their number is not limited by being in a predetermined number

unthreaded areas of the mating connector must intervene, which naturally is usually limited to a maximum of three or four.

Alternatively, the locking arms can also be part of a separate locking device. Then their elasticity is easily adjustable by their material and / or their shape separately from that of the insulating body. For example, they can be made of sheet metal, in particular spring-elastic sheet metal, e.g. Stainless steel sheet. This has the advantage of a double function, because then you can also have a shielding function at the same time. In particular, they can be designed as a stamped and bent part, which enables ergonomic production.

As already mentioned, the circular connector can have a radial seal.

The plug-in area can have a circumferential groove on its contact carrier section end for fixing the seal to the insulating body.

The seal can be an O-shaped sealing ring or a molded seal molded onto the insulating body. The mating connector has a mating connector housing with a

Threaded section with internal thread. To the

Mating connector housing is a circumferential or inside

interrupted detent formed. This locking lug is molded on the mating side of the internal thread on the mating connector housing. In particular, the locking lug is arranged at the plug end of the mating connector housing.

When plugged in, the plug-in area of the

Immerse the circular connector in the threaded section of the mating connector, while at the same time the snap hooks of the circular connector snap onto the mating catch of the mating connector.

In an alternative embodiment, an alternative

A circular connector housing with a

Base section on which on the outside is attached a separate latching device encompassing the base section. This has radially movable latching arms, the latching arms having radially outwardly directed latching hooks at their free-standing ends for latching in a mating connector. Subsequently, they have an outward attack slope.

Furthermore, the alternative circular connector has said or an alternative but equivalent locking sleeve that the

Grips contact carrier section. The release sleeve is for

Interacting with the said bevels of the locking arms for unlocking the alternative circular connector from the mating connector along the direction of insertion slidably held on the circular connector housing. The circular connector housing also has a hollow cylindrical molded on the plug side of the base section

Housing plug area on. According to the invention, the latching hooks are on this type

Circular connector housing near the transition from

Housing plug area arranged to the base section.

The separate locking device can be made of a resilient material, in particular resilient sheet metal, e.g. Stainless steel sheet, is formed. In particular, it can be a stamped and bent part.

The circular connector housing can be made of a particularly hard material, e.g. be made of a zinc alloy in the zinc die casting process.

The alternative circular connector can have a radial seal.

At its contact carrier section end, the

Have a circumferential groove for fixing the seal.

The seal can be an O-shaped sealing ring (“O-ring”).

The above-mentioned advantages of the circular connector also apply to the alternative circular connector.

When plugged in, the housing plug area of the alternative circular connector can dip into the threaded section of the mating connector, while at the same time the snap hooks of the alternative

Snap the circular connector onto the locking tab on the mating connector. Thus, the locking arms do not have to reach through the internal thread and can be made stronger the internal thread need not be segmented. This will make the

Locking forces and the holding forces of the screw connection improved.

Embodiment

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

Fig. 1 a with a mating connector

Cross-section circular connector;

Fig. 1 b is an enlargement of a latch from the

previous representation;

1 c the circular connector in an exploded view;

1 d an insulating body of the circular connector;

2a shows an alternative insulating body of the circular connector with a separate latching device;

Fig. 2b the separate locking device in the punched out

unbent condition.

The figures contain partially simplified, schematic representations. In some cases, the same, but possibly not identical

Elements used identical reference numerals. Different views of the same elements could be scaled differently.

1 a and 1 b show a system of a circular connector 1 and a mating connector 2 in cross section. The circular connector 1 is plugged into the mating connector 2 and locked there. 1 b shows an enlargement of the image detail encircled in FIG. 1 a. The circular connector 1 has, shown on the right in the drawing, a cable gland 6 which is screwed to a cable gland thread 16 of an insulating body 100 of the circular connector 1 for the introduction, fixing and sealing of an inserted cable.

At this cable screw thread 16 closes

Contact carrier section 10. This has through openings 15 for receiving plug contacts 17, one of which is shown in the drawing by way of example and the other is only partially shown in order to expose the contact carrier opening 15. The so in

Contact carrier section 10 held plug contacts 17 protrude on the plug side into a hollow cylindrical plug region 14, which also

Is part of the insulating body and the

Contact carrier section 10 connects.

On the outside, a plurality of latching arms 13 are integrally formed on the contact carrier section 10. These locking arms 13 are radially movable, namely elastically deformable, held on the insulating body 100. For the two locking arms 13 shown here, this means that they are movable up and down in the drawing, namely elastic, i.e. with the application of a restoring force corresponding to their deflection, compared to the

Contact carrier section 10, are deflectable. In the present

The locking arms 13 are made in one piece with the insulating body 100, e.g. Injection molded, namely over one

Connection section 18 integrally formed on the contact carrier section 10, wherein the entire insulating body 100 consists of plastic. In order to ensure the radial mobility of the locking arms 13, it would in principle be sufficient if this connecting section 18 were made of an elastic plastic, such as a thermoplastic. In the present embodiment, however, there is the whole

Insulating body 100 made of a uniform material, namely one Thermoplastic to enable the production in a simple injection molding process. Furthermore, four locking arms 13 are provided in this embodiment, but it is of course clear to the person skilled in the art that any other number is also conceivable.

The locking arms 13 have at their free ends radially outwardly directed locking hooks 12 for locking on the mating connector 2. Subsequently, they each have an outwardly directed bevel 12, the function of which is explained by the interaction with an unlocking sleeve 3 encompassing the contact carrier section 10, more precisely its unlocking bevel 31.

If the unlocking sleeve 3 is namely manually in the unlocking direction, i.e. pulled away from the mating connector, i.e. from left to right in the drawing, their unlocking bevels 31 press the two

Locking arms 13 at the bevels 1 1 inwards, that is, towards each other in the drawing. In particular, the locking arms 13 due to their elasticity and the associated restoring force

Unlocking sleeve 3 in this way again in their

Locking position, i.e. to move to the mating connector 2.

By said manual pulling of the unlocking sleeve in its unlocking direction, the latching hooks 12, which can be seen particularly well in FIG. 1b, unlatch from a circumferential latching nose 22 of the

Mating connector 2, which is molded on the mating side and directed inward of the mating connector 2, namely on its mating connector housing 21. The latching hooks 12 protrude into the essentially cylindrical plug-in opening of the mating connector 2, which is not shown in detail for reasons of clarity.

Furthermore, the seal in this illustration is designed as a molded seal 4 ^′ molded onto the plug-in area 14. In the area of this plug-in opening, the mating plug housing 21 has a threaded section 23 with a continuous, ie non-segmented, internal thread. The circumferential locking lug 22 is arranged on the plug side (on the right in the drawing) of the threaded section 23. The latching hooks 12 of the connector 1 are arranged on the insulating body 100 in the vicinity of the transition from the plug-in area 14 to the contact carrier section 10. When plugged in, the plug-in area 14 of the

Circular connector 1 immersed in the threaded portion 23 of the mating connector 2, while at the same time the locking hook 12 of the

Circular connector 1 on the plug-side latch 22 of the

Lock mating connector 2.

1 c shows the circular connector in an exploded view. It can be clearly seen that the plug-in area 14 has a hollow cylindrical shape and a groove 140 on the contact carrier side for fixing the

Sealing ring 4 has. Furthermore, it is easy to imagine that the

Circular connector 100 has four locking arms 13, although only three can be seen in the drawing because the fourth is covered by the insulating body 100.

The essentially hollow cylindrical basic shape of the unlocking sleeve 3 can also be clearly seen.

In this illustration, the seal is designed as a sealing ring 4. It is fixed in a groove 140 which on the contact carrier section side

Mating area 14 is arranged.

1 d shows the insulating body 100 also enlarged in a 3D view. Here, a locking arm 13 is provided with its locking hook 12 and its bevels 11 representative of the others with reference numerals. The radially outward locking hooks 12 are on Insulating body 100 is arranged in the vicinity of the transition from the plug-in area 14 to the contact carrier section 10.

2a shows another embodiment of the invention. An alternative circular connector has a circular connector housing 700 which is made of a comparatively hard material, for example die-cast zinc. In the circular connector housing 700, a separate contact carrier (not shown) for receiving and holding the

Plug contacts 17 inserted.

The circular connector housing 700 has a base section 70 to which a separate latching device 5 is attached. The separate latching device engages around the base section 70 and is fixed thereon with first 51 and second 52 retaining tabs. The separate latching device has latching arms 513 with latching pins and engagement bevels 512, which, analogously to the latching arms 13 described above, have the same

Unlocking sleeve 3 or an unlocking sleeve, not shown, particularly well coordinated with this type of construction.

Furthermore, the circular connector housing 700 has one

Housing plug region 74 with one on the base section 70

adjacent, i.e. arranged on the base section side

Housing groove 740 for receiving the seal in the form of a

Sealing ring 4.

The elastic locking arms 513 are therefore part of the separate locking device. In a further embodiment in FIG. 2b, this is designed separately as a stamped and bent part. It is easy to see that this is punched out of a spring-elastic sheet metal around the

Base area laid, with their retaining tabs 51, 52 fixed thereon and with their dovetail connection, not specified

can be closed. In this composite construction, the connector housing 700 can be made particularly hard and stable. At the same time, the

necessary elasticity of the locking arms 513 due to the material of the separate locking device, e.g. Spring plate, determined.

Even if different aspects or features of the invention are shown in each case in combination in the figures, unless otherwise stated, it is obvious to the person skilled in the art that the combinations shown and discussed are not the only possible ones. In particular, units or feature complexes corresponding to one another can be exchanged with one another from different exemplary embodiments. In particular, it is conceivable to provide an insulating body, not shown in the drawing, which consists of plastic, with said separate latching device 5.

Circular connector with locking

Reference symbol list

1 circular connector

10 contact carrier section

100 insulators

11 locking hooks

12 attack slopes

13 locking arm

14 mating area

140 groove

15 through openings

16 cable gland threads

17 plug contacts

18 connecting section

2 mating connectors

21 mating connector housing

22 latch

23 threaded section

3 release sleeve

31 Release slope

4, 4 ^' seal (O-shaped sealing ring / molded

Molded seal)

5 separate locking devices

51 1 locking hook

512 bevels

513 locking arm 514 mating area

51, 52 first, second retaining tabs

6 cable gland

7 alternative circular connectors

700 circular connector housings

70 base section

74 Housing plug area

740 housing groove

Claims

Circular connector with locking claims

1. Circular connector (1) having an insulating body (100) with a contact carrier section (10) and a hollow cylindrical plug-in area (14), with radially movable latching arms (13, 513) being attached to the outside of the contact carrier section (10) and with free ends in Point in the direction of the plug-in area (14), the latching arms (13, 513) at their free ends having radially outwardly directed latching hooks (12, 512) for latching in a mating connector (2) and then an outer bevel (1 1, 51 1), the

Circular connector (1) also has an unlocking sleeve (3) which engages around the contact carrier section (10) and for

Interaction with the said bevels (1 1, 511) for unlocking the circular connector (1) from the mating connector (2) is slidably held on the insulating body (100) along the direction of insertion,

characterized in that

the latching hooks (12, 512) are arranged on the insulating body (100) in the vicinity of the transition from the plug-in area (14) to the contact carrier section (10).

2. Circular connector (1) according to claim 1, characterized

characterized in that the latching arms (13) are made in one piece with the insulating body (100) and are molded onto the outside of the contact carrier section (10).

3. Circular connector (1) according to claim 2, characterized

characterized in that the insulating body (100) at least partially, namely at least in a connecting section (18) with which the Locking arms (13) are formed on the contact carrier section (10), made of an elastic plastic, in order to provide a movable connection between the locking arms (13) and the

To ensure contact carrier section (10).

4. circular connector (1) according to claim 3, wherein said

elastic plastic is a thermoplastic or a thermoset or an elastomer.

5. Circular connector (1) according to claim 1, characterized

characterized in that the locking arms (513) are part of a separate locking device (5) which on the

Contact carrier section (10) is attached.

6. Circular connector (1) according to claim 5, characterized

characterized in that the separate latching device (5) is formed from an elastic sheet.

7. Circular connector (1) according to claim 6, characterized

characterized in that the separate latching device (5) is a stamped and bent part.

8. Circular connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the circular connector (1) has a radially acting seal (4, 4 ^' ).

9. circular connector (1) according to claim 8, characterized

characterized in that the plug-in area (14) on its

End of the contact carrier section has a circumferential groove (140) for fixing the seal (4).

10. Circular connector (1) according to one of claims 8 to 9, characterized in that the seal is an egg-shaped sealing ring (4).

11. Circular connector (1) according to claim 8, characterized

characterized that the seal is a

molded molded seal (4 ^' ).

12. Circular connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the entire insulating body (100) is formed from plastic.

13. Circular connector according to one of the preceding claims,

characterized in that the latching arms (13) are held on the insulating body (100) in an elastically resilient manner.

14. mating connector (2), having a mating connector housing (21) with an internally threaded portion (23) and a circumferential or interrupted, plug side of the

Threaded portion (23) on the mating connector housing (24), inwardly directed latching lug (22) for latching with the latching arms (13, 513) of the circular connector (1) according to one of the preceding claims.

15. System from the circular connector (1) according to one of the

Claims 1 to 13 and the mating connector (2) according to claim 14, characterized in that when plugged in

Mating area (10) of the circular connector (1) in the

Threaded section (23) of the mating connector (2) is immersed, while at the same time the latching hooks (12) of the circular connector (1) latch on the mating latch (22) of the mating connector (2).

16. Alternative circular connector (7) having a

Circular connector housing (700) with a base section (70), on the outside of which a separate latching device (5) is attached which surrounds the base section (70) and has radially movable latching arms (513), the latching arms (513) being radial at their free ends outward locking hooks (512) for

Have locking in a mating connector (2) and on it

then have an outwardly directed bevel (511), the alternative circular connector (7) furthermore having an unlocking sleeve (3) which engages around the contact carrier section (10) and for cooperation with the said

Attack slopes (51 1) to unlock the alternative

Circular connector (7) from the mating connector (2) along the

The plug-in direction is slidably held on the circular connector housing (700), the circular connector housing (700) also integrally molded onto the base section (70) on the plug side

has hollow cylindrical housing plug area (74),

characterized in that

the snap hooks (512) on the circular connector housing (700) near the transition from the housing plug area (74) to

Base section (70) are arranged.

17. Alternative circular connector (7) according to claim 16, characterized in that the separate latching device (5) is formed from sheet metal.

18. Alternative circular connector (7) according to claim 17, characterized in that it is a stamped and bent part in the separate locking device (5).

19. Alternative circular connector (7) according to one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that the alternative

Round connector (7) has a radial seal (4).

20. Alternative circular connector (7) according to claim 19, characterized in that the housing plug region (74) has a circumferential groove (740) at its contact carrier section end for fixing the seal (4).

21. Alternative circular connector (7) according to one of claims 19 to 20, characterized in that the seal is an O-shaped sealing ring (4) (“O-ring”).

22. System from the alternative circular connector (7) according to one of claims 16 to 21 and the mating connector (2) according to claim

14, characterized in that, when plugged in, the housing plug region (70) of the circular connector (7) plunges into the threaded section (23) of the mating connector (2), while at the same time the latching hooks (512) of the circular connector (7) on the latching lug (22 ) of the mating connector (2).