EP3977570A1

EP3977570A1 - Plug connector with locking system

Info

Publication number: EP3977570A1
Application number: EP20729708.6A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Bertsch
Original assignee: Amphenol Tuchel Industrial GmbH
Current assignee: Amphenol Tuchel Industrial GmbH
Priority date: 2019-05-28
Filing date: 2020-05-28
Publication date: 2022-04-06
Also published as: DE102019114262B3; WO2020239926A1; US20220320794A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a closure system for plug connectors for connecting and locking a plug with its plug partner, comprising a primary locking mechanism, formed by at least one bayonet ring having at least one control slot, coupled to a plug connector plug and designed to functionally cooperate with at least one pin located on a plug connector counter plug and assigned to the control slot, wherein the control slot has a Z-shaped course such that two-stage movement kinematics of the primary locking mechanism is supported. The invention also relates to a plug connection for producing a detachable electrically conductive connection, comprising a plug connector plug and a plug connector counter plug having a closure system.

Description

description

Connector with locking system

The invention relates to a locking system for plug connectors for connecting and locking a plug with its plug partner, having a primary lock, formed from at least one bayonet ring with at least one control link, coupled with one

Connector plug and designed for functional interaction with at least one pin assigned to the control link on a connector mating connector.

For contacting or making detachable electrically conductive connections

Plug connections, contacting elements, pole connectors, receptacles etc. in

different training courses and variants are used. In particular, but not exclusively for electrical contacting tasks in the higher power range, contact systems have been developed that are based on round contact geometries for receiving a contact pin.

Such high-voltage connectors are often implemented as circular connectors with one or more plug contact pins and, in addition to reliable, detachable and permanent contact, must in particular also protect against unwanted or through

Axial tensile loads caused separation of the plug connection are secured.

In the prior art, bayonet or screw locks are often used as primary locks in circular connectors. These securing means are usually permanently attached to the respective plug connections and are supplemented by secondary locks to protect against unintentional disconnection. In the prior art, securing means are usually used as spring-like arrangements which engage with corresponding openings or catches and thereby cause two parts of a circular connector to be locked.

Furthermore, circular connectors are known in which the plug connection is made via so-called bayonet locks. An alternative form of a closure is a

Rotary lock, which, like a bayonet lock, is attached to the plug connections in such a way that the connector pair is fixed to a locking thread by means of a locking screw. Locks of this type are problematic, in particular, when the aim is to prevent the lock from being released unintentionally or improperly and / or from pulling the plug connector under voltage. In the latter case, arcs can ignite, especially in the high-voltage range, which are problematic in terms of safety and can endanger life.

In dynamic applications and when machines vibrate, the problem can also arise that connector locks, in particular screw locks, can loosen over time as a result of these mechanical vibrations and the connector is no longer reliably connected to the mating connector.

A well-known connector solution with primary and secondary locking is in the

DE 10 2013 112 103 A1 presented. A plug of this plug connection comprises an inner subassembly, an outer sleeve which is mounted displaceably with respect to the inner subassembly and at least partially encloses the inner subassembly and first locking means for locking the plug with an associated plug connector part when the plug is plugged onto the plug connector part, the locking being effected by a Displacement of the outer sleeve with respect to the inner assembly can be solved.

Such connectors, consisting of a plug and a connector part, are known as push-pull connectors. This name is derived from the function of such connectors. These can be closed by simply plugging the connector onto the connector part in one direction of insertion (“push”). The connector part can be a socket or a second plug. When plugging on or by plugging on, locking means of the plug and the

Connector part locked together so that the connector is not by a train z. B. can be solved on a cable connected to the connector. To release the connection, the outer sleeve of the plug is pulled against the direction of insertion (“pull”). There is a relative movement between the outer sleeve and the inner assembly of the plug, whereby the locking means are unlocked. If the outer sleeve is pulled further against the insertion direction, the plug is released from the connector part. With other types of connectors, an additional operation must be performed to lock or unlock. Such a process would be, for example, the raising or lowering of a locking hook serving as a locking means or an additional rotational movement of the outer sleeve, such as. B. common with so-called bayonet connectors.

The disadvantage is that accidental loosening of the connector can occur due to the simple unlocking process by pulling on the outer sleeve. Another disadvantage of the known plug-in connectors of this push-pull type is that any person who has access to the plug connector can release such a plug connector without any further aids. Accidental, arbitrary or unauthorized loosening cannot be prevented with the known connectors of the convenient push-pull type.

As a solution, DE 10 2013 1 12 103 A1 suggests that an additional

Locking element is provided, which is slidably mounted and can be brought into at least one stable locking position in which the displacement of the outer sleeve with respect to the inner assembly is blocked, and at least one stable release position in which the displacement of the outer sleeve is released with respect to the inner assembly is.

DE 20 2008 013 794 U1 discloses a connector device with two

Connector part and socket part consisting of coupling halves for connecting and disconnecting multi-core electrical high-voltage and / or low-voltage lines, each coupling half consisting of a substantially cylindrical receiving electrical contact elements

Housing exists, both of which can be coupled by means of a coupling sleeve.

At one of its two open ends, the coupling sleeve has a radially inwardly projecting nose for engagement in a locking groove which is formed on the housing end of one of the two coupling halves. The locking groove consists of an in

Circumferential end portion in which an axially or obliquely

Lead-in section opens, with a torsion spring being arranged in the union sleeve, one end of which is in the union sleeve and the other end at the not with the

Locking groove provided housing end supports. This three-part connector device is coupled or decoupled via a bayonet system. The torsion spring has the effect of a closing spring, which in the

When the two coupling halves are plugged together, the sleeve automatically turns into the closed position.

Another known connector device is shown in DE 20 2005 010 113 U1. A connector coupling is presented, consisting of a first coupling half, which has at least one coupling housing and a contact carrier housed therein

Contact elements and a contact carrier and possibly its contact elements encompassing at least part of their axial length, with an external thread to

optionally screwing on a union nut rotatably coupled to a second coupling half or for connecting a rotatably coupled to a second coupling half and equipped with means for bringing about a quick lock

Connecting element includes suitable area of the coupling housing.

The primary lock is optionally available as screw connections, for example by means of

Union nut or designed as a bayonet lock. A reverse rotation protection or a protection against undesired rotation due to vibrations is assigned to a connector partner as a secondary lock. Such an anti-rotation lock is formed in that the anti-rotation lock assigned to the threadless connecting element of the second coupling half or protection against undesired rotation due to vibrations consists of at least one spring element fixed on the coupling housing of the second coupling half and a detent assigned to it on the inner circumference of the sleeve forming the connecting element, a simple implementation results from the fact that the spring element or elements fixed on the clutch housing of the second clutch half are formed by radially projecting leaf spring sections, which

Notch-shaped catches are assigned on the inner circumference of the sleeve forming the connecting element.

Another secondary locking solution in combination with a bayonet than

Primary locking is shown in DE 20 2010 017 274 U1. A secondary locking means is attached to one of the plug connectors in such a way that the primary locking means, preferably the locking ring, is in its

intended locked state is held in its position by the secondary locking means. By releasing the secondary locking means as intended, the locking ring can be unlocked from its locking position and released against the locking direction. The secondary locking or the secondary locking means is designed as a spring pin arranged between the connector and the connector socket. A so-called pogopin can be used as a spring pin.

The Pogopin is constructed in such a way that the spring pin pin can resiliently dip into the spring pin body and when the spring pin pin is released it can return to its original position against a spring force of a spring arranged in the spring pin body.

The spring pin is arranged on the connector socket in such a way that it can plunge into a recess on the locking ring of the connector after locking the locking ring by engaging the spring pin pin in a recess on the locking ring and thus securing the locking ring against loosening. At the end of the locking process, the spring pin engages the corresponding secondary locking recess and fixes the primary lock, preferably a locking ring, in its intended position. The arrangement of the spring pin relative to the connector partners is always chosen so that the spring pin movement takes place axially to the connector in an also axially aligned recess.

It is the object of the invention to provide a connector which at least partially reduces the aforementioned disadvantages and in particular the undesired or through

Environmental influences on the connector prevent unwanted separation of the connector. A safety-relevant separation of the live plug connectors should be counteracted with high reliability.

The invention solves the problem by means of a locking system for connectors, in particular for high-voltage connectors (DC connectors) with a primary lock formed from a bayonet lock and a functionally coupled secondary lock formed from at least one locking slide. The primary locking takes place according to the invention by a two-stage bayonet lock which can be locked in the locking end position by the secondary locking against unintentional release. The secondary locking is provided by at least one locking slide, which is either a functionally-integrative component of the bayonet ring or of the associated connector housing.

The at least one backdrop of the lock solution based on the bayonet principle offers an associated pin two latching positions, which are achieved by the Z-shaped extension.

A first and a second insertion depth of the corresponding Steek connector mating connector is assigned to the two locking positions.

The bayonet ring has a rotational degree of freedom that supports two end positions. The bayonet ring is designed in such a way that it has at least two positions which can be achieved by a combination of axially linear displacement and rotary movement. One of the end positions supports an unlocked state of the primary lock, the other end position supports the locked position. In the unlocked position (if the connector and mating connector can be separated) the associated pin can be moved through the link. In the locked position of the

Bayonet rings, the functionally coupled secondary locking can be activated so that the movement out of the locking position in the link groove is locked with the result that the

Connector cannot be released.

The secondary lock, designed as a locking slide, can be moved into a position that prevents the pin from moving in the link by means of a stop and locks it in the locked position. The rotative degree of freedom of the

Bayonet rings blocked so that the bayonet ring cannot be moved out of its locked position.

With the locking system according to the invention for connectors, in particular for

High-voltage connectors with primary and secondary locking not only reduce a number of the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art, but also achieve further advantages: In the locked position, the shock and / or vibration resistance is increased. Independent rotation of the locking ring due to vibrations can be excluded, since the ring is formed from at least one by means of the secondary lock

Locking slide is held in locking position;

Unauthorized loosening of the plug connection can be prevented by the optional design of the locking position, in that the secondary locking is only released by a tool;

the Z-curved design of the bayonet link forces a two-stage process

Movement kinematics, so that a quick disconnection of the plug connection is prevented.

To avoid an electric arc, two switching contacts are first released when the connector is pulled, which causes the system to switch off the voltage. During this time, the high-current contact must remain connected. In order to reduce capacities and inductances in the system, a short period of time for the charge to reduce should be guaranteed after the two switching contacts have been disconnected. In the case of two-stage kinematics due to the Z-curve bayonet link, after reaching the pin position in the Z curve (intermediate stage, first detent position), first an axial and then a rotary movement component of the connector elements to each other must be implemented in order to establish the plug connection and the contacting of the plug contact pins to solve. The time required by the kinematics of movement ensures that the plug contacts are de-energized before they are actually released and that arcing does not occur - the geometric configuration of the secondary lock as a largely identical counterpart to that specified by the bayonet link for the assigned pin

Movement path prevents the incorrect locking outside the defined locking position, which is defined by the end position of the pin in the bayonet gate in the gate base. The invention is illustrated below using an exemplary embodiment in

Connection with the figures explained in more detail. Show:

Fig. 1 shows the perspective and the front view of the connector housing

Locking system for connectors in an open position (“unlock”) of the locking system; ,

Fig. 2 shows the three-dimensional and the top view of the socket mating connector

Pin and sleeve section; 3 shows the side views of the connector housing with the locking system for

Connectors and the secondary lock in unlocked

(upper figure, “unlock”) and locked (lower figure, “lock”) position.

Figure 1 comprises the perspective and the front view of the connector housing 140 with locking system for connector 100 in an open position (“unlock”) of the locking system 100. Primary components of the locking system 100 of this

In the exemplary embodiment, the primary lock, formed by the bayonet ring 110, interacts with at least one pin 151 of the connector mating connector 150, and the secondary lock is formed by the locking slide 160.

In this example, the connector housing 140 is made in one piece with the bayonet ring 110, for example manufactured in a plastic injection molding process using a correspondingly multi-part tool with slides. Built arrangements are also possible in which the overall arrangement is constructed and joined in several parts.

The kinematics of movement of the primary lock follows the bayonet principle in a rotary manner in the scope of a partial circular movement and combined with an axially linear movement component as a result of the Z-shaped link 116, the secondary lock obeys a linear movement in the axial direction of the connector housing 140 Engagement 161 formed and externally coupled to and movably to the connector housing 140.

The connector contact is axially centered with a preferably round

trained plug contact. In the example shown, the contact is made by means of a

Lamellar contact socket 141 is provided.

In Figure 1, an arrangement of three scenes, inlet / outlet grooves 116, 116 'is shown symmetrically on the circumference of the connector housing 140 or evenly distributed on the circumference. This design, which is often advantageous for static reasons, can be depending on the area of application or

Environmental conditions can also be constructed differently, for example asymmetrically or with one, two or more than three functionally interacting gate arrangements. Corresponding and congruent to the number and position of the scenes, inlet / outlet grooves 116, 116 ', both the engagements 161 of the locking slide 160 and the recesses 113 of the bayonet ring 110 are provided. FIG. 2 shows the three-dimensional representation and the top view of the

Base mating connector 150 with pin 151 and sleeve section 152. The sleeve section 152 is inserted concentrically with an annular gap arranged at the end of the connector housing 140 and the radially outwardly extending at least one pin 151 is threaded into the inlet / outlet groove 116 'to initially provide the primary lock to accomplish and to secure after reaching the end position by the secondary locking. The contacting elements for establishing the electrically conductive connection are preferably arranged in the interior of the base mating connector 150 (not shown). For the realization of the

Plug connection, it is irrelevant whether the kinematics of the primary locking is controlled by the

Connector housing 140 or the socket mating connector 150 or a

Combination of movements - sequential or superimposing - is performed by both mating partners. In the illustrated possible embodiment of the mating connector as a base mating connector 150, this is preferably fixed via bores 154, so that the kinematics of the movement are completely accomplished by the connector housing 140.

FIG. 3 comprises the side views of the connector housing with the locking system for connector 100 and the secondary lock 160 in the unlocked (upper figure, "unlock") and locked (lower figure, lock ") position, with both illustrations showing the primary lock in its connected end position that the at least one assigned pin 151 is in the final latching position, locking position 117 in the link 116.

The secondary lock is activated in that the locking slide 160 is moved axially from the open position “unlock” into the closed position “lock” and the engagement 161 into the

Recess 1 13 of the bayonet ring 110 is retracted. The intervention 161 is that

Contour-congruent counterpart to the recess 113 and the Z-curved design of the bayonet link 116 and locks the associated pin 151 in its blocking position 117 with an engagement shoulder, so that the rotational kinematics of the primary lock is blocked. List of reference symbols

100 locking system for connectors

110 bayonet ring

113 recess

116 backdrop, bayonet backdrop, control backdrop

116 'Inlet / outlet groove

1 17 locked position

140 connector housings, connector plugs

141 Lamellar contact socket

142 Signal contact

146 Setting, bayonet setting, bayonet slot, control setting

146 'Inlet / outlet groove

147 Detent position, locked position

148 intermediate stop position

150 socket mating connector, connector mating connector

151 cones

152 sleeve section

153 Base plate, flange plate

154 bore

160 secondary locking, locking slide

161 intervention

Claims

Expectations

1. Locking system for connectors (100) for connecting and locking a

Connector with its mating partner, having a primary lock, formed from at least one bayonet ring (110) with at least one control link (116), coupled to a plug connector (140) and designed for functional interaction with at least one pin (151) assigned to the control link (116) on a connector mating connector (150), characterized in that the control link (116) has a Z-shaped profile, so that a two-stage kinematics of the primary locking is supported.

2. Closure system for connector (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bayonet ring (110) has at least one recess (113) assigned to the combination of link (116) and pin (151).

3. Locking system for plug connectors (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the bayonet ring (110) is movable between two positions, which are preferably end positions, one position supporting an unlocking state and one position supporting a locking state of the locking system (100).

4. Closure system for connector (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that an intermediate latching position (148) is arranged in the central region of the Z-shaped course of the control link (116) so that a slowed separation of the

Plug connection is supported or a separation of the connector from the mating connector only by superimposing an axial and a radial displacement of the

Bayonet rings (110) opposite the mating connector is possible.

5. Locking system for connectors (100) according to claim 1, characterized in that the primary lock is functionally coupled to a secondary lock for locking the primary lock in its locked position.

6. Locking system for connectors (100) according to claim 5, characterized in that the secondary lock is formed by a locking slide (160).

7. Locking system for connectors (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking slide (160) is movable between an open position (unlocking position) and a closed position (locking position).

8. Closure system for connector (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that the kinematics of movement of the locking slide (160) axiallinear to

Connector housing (140) is formed, which preferably represents a movement in and against the plugging direction.

9. Locking system for plug connector (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking disc (160) has an engagement (161) assigned to the combination of link (116) and pin (151).

10. Closure system for connector (100) according to claim 9, characterized in that the engagement (161) is shaped as a contour-congruent counterpart to the recess (113) and the Z-curved design of the bayonet link (116).

11. Closure system for connectors (100) according to claim 6, characterized in that the locking slide (160) with its at least one engagement (161) in the

The closed position can be moved when the associated pin (151) is in its locking position in the link (116), so that the primary lock is locked.

12. Closure system for connectors (100), in particular according to one of the

preceding claims, characterized in that the locking system is a bayonet lock, including at least one rotatably arranged bayonet ring with a receiving contour for receiving a back and forth movable locking slide is provided on the plug, which prevents the bayonet ring from rotating when it is in its the receptacle is introduced locking position, the link for guiding the pin of the mating connector at least partially in the area of the

Receiving contour is arranged and moving the locking slide in his

Barrier division is only possible if the pin is within an area in the backdrop outside of the receiving contour.

13. Plug connection for producing a releasable electrically conductive connection, comprising a plug connector (140) and a plug connector mating plug (150) with a locking system (100) according to one of the preceding claims.

14. Plug connection for producing a releasable electrically conductive connection according to claim 12, characterized in that the plug connection is a

is a high-voltage circular connector.