FR3036861A1 - SHORT CIRCUIT PIN AND ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR SUPPORT SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a shorting pin (10) for an electrical connector support system, said pin comprising two shorting elements (11) adapted to engage a respective contact pin of an electrical connector holder and bypassing said contact pins, at least one first grounding element (12) adapted to engage a grounding contact of a plug-in electrical connector in the holder electrical connector, and at least one second grounding element (13) adapted to engage a conductive portion of an electrical connector support. At least one second grounding element (13) is adapted to engage a conductive portion of an electrical connector support in at least two contact areas. The invention also relates to an electrical connector support system (40).

Description

The present invention relates to a short-circuiting pin for an electrical connector support system, in particular for a pigtail support system, as well as to a system including such a shorting pin. Motor vehicle safety systems, including pyrotechnic systems such as those used for airbags or safety belts, require high levels of reliability. The specifications of the car manufacturers therefore generally impose high levels of security for the electrical connectors used in these systems. In particular, a constraint is to provide as effective grounding as possible in primer support systems or igniter carriers used in a standard manner. It is generally known that an electrical connector system comprises an electrical connector, for example a pyrotechnic connector, which is plugged into a retaining support, in which a shorting ring and a shorting pin are previously mounted. circuit ensuring the grounding of the various components of the system with the retaining bracket. VVO 2010/070391 A1 discloses a short-circuiting pin that can be mounted in a standard short-circuiting ring of a standard igniter holder of the automotive industry (however, the retainer is not shown). The disclosed shorting ring includes four contact tabs designed to ground the shorting ring and a pyrotechnic connector homologous with the retainer (not shown). This document further discloses that each of the contact tabs of the shorting pin is folded into a wing shape and comprises a flat end portion, the back of which provides a respective contact area with a conductive portion of the carrier. restraint (not shown), allowing the system elements to be grounded. Thus, the shorting pin disclosed in VVO 2010/070391 A1 allows, through the four contact tabs, to have at most four respective contact areas for effecting a ground. However, it turns out that the 3036861 2 contact tabs do not allow an electrical contact meeting the expectations of some car manufacturers. It is therefore desirable to improve grounding in the known systems and in particular in the primer support systems used in a standard way by the vehicle manufacturers. In particular, it is desirable to provide a short-circuiting ring for a safety restraint system, to improve the electrical contact and grounding efficiency of the ring with the retaining base relative to the state of the art, without having to change the design of the ring or the base, which are standard components.

According to a first aspect, the objective is achieved by a shorting pin for an electrical connector support system, adapted to be mounted in a short-circuiting ring of an electrical connector holder in a direction parallel to the shorting ring mounting direction, said short circuiting pin comprising two shorting elements adapted to contact a respective contact pin of an electrical connector holder and short-circuit said pin-out pins; contact, at least one first grounding element adapted to contact a grounding contact of a plug-in electrical connector in the electrical connector holder, and at least one second grounding element adapted to engage a conductive portion of an electrical connector support. At least one second grounding element is designed, or in other words configured, to contact a conductive portion of an electrical connector support in at least two contact areas. Thus, with respect to a known short-circuiting pin of the state of the art having a single contact pad contacting zone, a shorting pin 25 according to this aspect of the present invention comprises at least a second grounding element, ie at least one contact lug, having two contact zones instead of one. It is therefore possible, for the same number of contact tabs, to double the number of contact areas between a shorting pin and a conductive part of an electrical connector support. The increased number, especially doubled, of electrical contact areas has the advantage of allowing a better grounding of a connector support system or, more generally, of an electrical connector system.

Preferably, at least one second grounding element can be designed such that pressure can be applied simultaneously to each of said two contact areas in a respective different direction. This has the advantage of improving the pressure exerted by a contact tab on the wall of a connector support at the contact areas and thus of improving the electrical contact for grounding with respect to the contact area. unidirectional pressure of a flap with a flat surface of a pin known from the state of the art. Advantageously, at least one second grounding element can be resiliently deformable in at least two different directions. This is also advantageous for improving physical contact and thus electrical contact, and thus grounding, between the shorting pin and a connector holder. In a preferred embodiment, at least one second grounding element may be designed in the form of a flange or wing comprising a connection portion, provided in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction, and a portion contact formed at an angle to the connection portion and in contact with at least two contact areas of the electrical connector support. A short-circuiting pin according to this variant allows a better electrical contact and therefore a better grounding than a known pin of the state of the art whose flat end only allows a single contact zone.

Preferably, the contact portion may be resiliently deformable as a whole resiliently with respect to the connection portion in a first direction, particularly a radial direction, in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction. At least one second grounding element thus provides a degree of flexibility for mounting a short-circuit ring system, in which a short-circuiting pin according to the invention is mounted, in a mounting bracket. connector. The resilient appearance therefore allows that once the ring mounted in the support, at least a second grounding element exerts a pressure in two contact areas of the support. Preferably, the contact portion may further be locally deformable resiliently with respect to the connection portion in at least a second direction, preferably in two other directions, different from the first direction in the plane substantially perpendicular to the direction of rotation. mounting. It is advantageous for the contact portion to be resiliently deformable in other directions other than the overall direction mentioned above, in order to further improve the pressure forces and thus the physical and electrical contact between the pin and the support. In a preferred embodiment, said contact portion may be angled, in particular V-shaped, to contact two contact areas of the electrical connector support. Preferably, said contact portion may include two angled walls adapted to engage a conductive portion of an electrical connector holder at a respective contact area. Such concepts have proved particularly conducive to achieving the aforementioned advantages.

Preferably, the pin may include four second grounding members. Thus, with respect to a known short-circuiting pin of the state of the art, it is possible to increase the number of contact zones to at least eight instead of only four. According to a second aspect, the objective is also achieved by an electrical connector support system, in particular a primer support system, comprising a shorting ring and a shorting pin according to the preceding aspect. or one of its variants. The advantages described above can thus be obtained in an electrical connector support system, or more broadly, in an electrical connector system.

The shorting pin, and therefore the electrical connector support system, according to the present invention makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the grounding with respect to the known grounding pins of the state. of the art by adapting the second grounding elements such that each second element comes into contact with two points or contact areas of a conductive part of an electrical contact support instead of a single point. contact as is the case in the shorting pins known from the state of the art. In particular, in advantageous embodiments, the present invention makes it possible, by a substantially V-shape of the contact portion of the second grounding elements, to have at least two spring effects, or even three, allowing the to improve the physical and electrical contact between the shorting pin according to the present invention and a connector support.

In sum, while remaining compatible with the standard electrical connector support systems and most particularly with the automotive industry leader systems, a shorting pin according to the present invention enables the zones to be doubled. contact for grounding a short-circuit ring 5 and a retaining support. It is therefore possible to have at least eight points of contact instead of the maximum of four possible points in the state of the art. In addition, in advantageous embodiments, it is also possible to further increase the quality of the electrical contact, and thus of the grounding, between the shorting ring and the base by the presence of additional spring effects, especially in different directions. The invention will be explained in more detail in the following by means of advantageous embodiments and by relying on the accompanying figures, in which: FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a support system electrical connector in a perspective view; Figure 15 illustrates schematically the system of the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, in an exploded view indicating the assembly direction; FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an example of an embodiment of a shorting ring for the system illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, in an exploded view detailing the ring and an exemplary embodiment of a pin of FIG. shorting; 3, FIGS. 4A and 4B schematically illustrate the assembled system of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, in a cross-sectional view along a plane perpendicular to the mounting direction (FIG.

4A) and in an enlarged view (Fig.

4B); and Figures 5A and 5B schematically illustrate two views of a grounding element of the shorting pin indicating different directions of elastic deformation.

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate, in perspective view, an exemplary embodiment of an electrical connector support system 40, or in other words a receptacle adapted to receive a plug-in electrical connector. Figure 1 shows the assembled system 40, while Figure 2 shows the system 40 in an exploded view with indication of the mounting direction 50, which also corresponds to the direction in which an electrical connector is to be plugged into the system or 40. FIG. 4A illustrates a cross-sectional view along a plane perpendicular to the axial direction of the assembled system 40 illustrated in FIG. 1. Essentially, the mounting direction 50 of the system 40 corresponds to the axial direction of the system 40. In this embodiment, the system 40 is an igniter support system, also known as a primer support, used for safety restraint systems such as airbags. or motor vehicle seat belts. In such a configuration, the system 40 can therefore be installed in a motor vehicle on the side 15 of the pyrotechnic device. A control unit of a shock and / or vibration sensor can therefore for example be connected to a pyrotechnic device by means of electric cables terminating in a pyrotechnic connector, or a primer connector (not shown), to be plugged into the Boot support system 40. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the primer support system 40, also referred to as the "igniter support", may comprise a retaining base 30, also referred to as a "retaining support". or simply "support" in the following, in which is retained a short-circuit ring 20, which in turn retains a short-circuiting pin 10, the latter making it possible to carry out the grounding between the short ring circuit 20 and the support 30, but also, if necessary, with an electrical connector plugged into the system 40. An embodiment of the short-circuiting pin 10 will be detailed further, especially in relation to 3, the assembled system 40, as illustrated in FIG. 1, thus makes it possible to receive and retain a plug-in electrical connector, for example a pyrotechnic connector. As shown in particular in Figures 1 and 2, the carrier 30 may be a primer connector carrier 30 used in a standard manner by the car manufacturers. Similarly, the short-circuiting ring 20 may be a short-circuiting ring also used in a standard way in the automotive industry with the support 30. Thus, the body 31 of the support 30 may be of substantially cylindrical geometry, and the internal surface 32 of the support 30 may comprise grooves or notches, which are locking zones for retaining locking lugs 23 arranged on the outer portion 21 of the short-circuiting ring 20 and, where appropriate, locking lugs of a pluggable electrical connector (not shown). In such a standard support 30, the front face 33 of the support 30 may also comprise notches 34, 5 in which can be housed projections 24 adapted to the outer portion 21 of the ring 20, thereby retaining the ring 20 in In addition, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate that a standard short-circuiting ring 20 may be substantially cylindrical in geometry and may be designed to be mounted in the base 30 in the mounting direction 50. It also emerges from these figures that the ring 20 may comprise an essentially cylindrical inner part 22, which is the part designed for connection with a homologous electrical connector, surrounded by an outer part 21, in the form of a cylindrical ring, which is the part designed to retain the ring 20 in the base 30. Thus, still in a standard manner, the inner connection portion 22 may comprise orifices 25, generally through the an inner portion 22 axially, adapted to receive the contact pins 35 projecting from the bottom 36, the rear face, the base 30 and, where appropriate, the complementary terminals of a conjugate electrical connector (not shown). It also appears that the front face 26 of the ring 20 can define a coupling section which, if necessary, is the section facing a complementary connector 20 which is plugged into the igniter holder 40. In other words, in the assembly illustrated in Figure 2, as well as in the assembled system 40 shown in Figure 1, the front face 26 of the ring 20 is substantially parallel to the front face 33 of the base 30, and the mounting direction 50 is the same as the axial direction of the assembled system 40, in particular of the ring 20, and is substantially perpendicular to the respective front faces 26 and 33. Figure 3 details one embodiment of the shorting pin 10, before It is evident that the mounting direction of the short-circuiting pin 10 in the short-circuiting ring 20 is essentially the same, in the near sense, as the direction of my shorting ring. 50, illustrated in FIG. 2. Thus, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the pin 10 is presented to the rear face 27 of the ring 20, which is the face designed in a standard manner to receive a pin of FIG. short-circuiting known from the state of the art. Thus, the present invention essentially does not require any modification of the ring 20, or indeed of the support 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pin 10 comprises two short-circuiting elements 11, which can be in the form of contact tongues. As can be seen from the sectional view of FIG. 4A, the two short-circuiting elements 11 are provided for short-circuiting the contact pins 35 of the retaining support 30. The pin further comprises at least one first element of FIG. ground 12, visible in Figures 1, 2 and 3, which is provided for making electrical contact with a grounding contact of a complementary electrical connector (not shown), in particular a primer connector, plugged into the system 40. In addition, the pin 10 further comprises at least one second grounding element 13, intended to come into contact with the inner wall 32 of the support 30, in particular of an electrically conductive zone. of the wall 32, more precisely of two zones. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the pin 10 may comprise in particular four grounding elements 13 in order to increase the points of contact and to improve the grounding between the ring 20 and the support. In a system 40 such as that of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1. According to the needs, particularly in other plug-in or electrical connector support systems, other embodiments of a short pin may be used. The circuit according to the present invention could comprise more or less second grounding elements 13, but also more or less first grounding element 12 or shorting elements 11. FIGS. 3 and 4A also illustrate that, in this embodiment, the short-circuiting pin 10 may be designed in one piece so that the short-circuiting elements 11, the first grounding element 12 and the four electrodes Earthing elements 13 are connected to each other. Pin 10 may therefore comprise connection structures 18 and 19 provided for this purpose between short-circuiting elements 11, the first grounding element 12 and the four grounding elements 13. Connection 18 and 19, as well as the geometry of the ring 10, can therefore be preferably adapted to the essentially cylindrical geometry of the ring 20.

In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4A, as well as the detailed views of FIGS. 4B, 5A and 5B, according to one aspect of the present invention, at least one of the second grounding elements 13 is designed to engage two points or contact areas 37 and 38 of the wall 32 of the support 30. When four second grounding elements 13 are so designed, the short-circuiting pin 10 allows the number of electrical contact zones to be doubled with a standard support with respect to a known ring of the state of the art, which is only intended to have a single contact zone per contact tab (and therefore a maximum of four contact zones in total).

According to preferred embodiments, at least one of the second grounding elements 13, or preferably each, of the shorting pin 10 may be designed in the form of a paw or wing protruding from the pin 10, and may therefore comprise a connecting portion 14 springing from one of the connection structures 19 substantially perpendicular thereto, ie to the mounting direction 50 when the pin 10 is aligned with or mounted in the ring 20. Each grounding elements 13 may therefore further comprise a contact portion 15, corresponding to the free end of the element 13, designed at an angle with respect to the connection portion 14, as illustrated in more detail 5A and 5B, and being the part intended to come into contact with at least two contact areas 37 and 38 of the inner wall 32 of a standard support 30 in an electrical connector support system 40, such as 'illustrated Figures 4A and 4B. It is then advantageous for the contact portion 15 to be resiliently deformable as a whole with respect to the connection portion 14. In particular, it is advantageous for the contact portion 15 to provide an overall spring effect in a first direction. 51 which can be substantially radial with respect to the mounting axis, in other words in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction 50 or perpendicular to the common axial direction of each of the elements 10, 20 and 30 of the assembled system 40, as shown in Figure 5A. The connection portion 14 can in turn be designed to allow resilient deformation with respect to the corresponding connection structure 19 from which it flows, essentially in the mounting direction 50. Each of the second grounding elements can therefore advantageously providing a spring effect in a direction parallel to the mounting direction 50, but also in a substantially radial direction 51 in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction 50.

Each spring effect or resilient deformation makes it possible to exert a better pressure on the contact points 37 and 38 of the support 30 and consequently to improve the physical and electrical contact between the pin 10 and the support 30, and thus also the contact electrical with the ring 20, and therefore the grounding. The synergy between the effects emerging in different directions thus makes it possible to combine these beneficial effects and to increase the effectiveness of the grounding compared to the known systems. In order to further improve the electrical and physical connection between the elements of the primer support system 40, and thus the grounding, it is advantageous that the contact portion 15 is further locally resiliently deformable by relative to the connecting portion 14 in at least a second direction 52 and / or 53, preferably in two other directions 52 and 53, different (s) from the first direction 51, in particular also in a plane perpendicular to the mounting direction 50 as shown in Figure 5B. One way to achieve this effect is to provide that the contact portion 15 is designed with a V-shape, in which two angled walls 16 and 17 form the legs of the V, as illustrated particularly in FIG. 3. 4A, 4B and 5B. The two walls 16 and 17 of the contact portion 15 of each of the second grounding elements 13 can then be resiliently deformable relative to each other in the particular directions 52 and 53, as can be seen in FIG. 5B, but also in the overall direction 51 shown in FIG. 5A with respect to the connection portion 14. This also has the advantage that, when mounting the ring system 20 comprising the pin 10 in the support 30 , the edges 16a and 17a of the walls 16 and 17 are the only ones to contact the inner wall 32 of the support 30, which reduces the contact surface with a standard support while increasing the pressure exerted on the contact zones 37 and 38 , which are therefore linear, with respect to flat-backed contact tabs such as those known from the state of the art for which the electrical contact is made over a wide surface with a pressure, and therefore a physical contact and electric, lesser. Thus, according to the advantageous embodiments, each of the second grounding elements 13 of the shorting pin 10 can be designed so that a pressure can be applied simultaneously to each of said two contact zones 37 and 38 of the interior 32 of the support 30, in several different directions, preferably in one or more planes substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction 50. The physical and electrical contacts between the short-circuiting pin 10, which is mounted in a standard shorting ring, itself mounted in a primer holder 30, and the primer holder 30, in particular an electrically conductive zone of the support 30, can thus be improved with respect to a short pin. -circuiting known from the state of the art.

In addition to the advantageous embodiments described above and in the accompanying figures, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the present invention can be applied more generally to any type of socket, base , electrical connector holder or grounding device having a substantially cylindrical configuration.

3036861 12 REFERENCE SIGNALS 10 short-circuiting pin 11 short-circuiting contact 12 first grounding element 5 13 second grounding element 14 connection part 15 contact part 16, 17 contact part walls 16a, 17a edges 18, 19 connection structures 20 shorting ring 21 outer portion / connecting portion 22 retaining portion 15 23 locking pin 24 projection 25 axial orifice for contact pin 26 front face 27 back side 20 30 base / support 31 support body 32 inner surface 33 front face 34 34 notch contact pin 36 bottom of base / rear face 37, 38 contact areas 30 40 connector support system / lead holder 50 mounting direction / of insertion 51 (global) direction of elastic deformation 52, 53 directions of elastic deformation 35

Claims (8)

REVENDICATIONS1. A short-circuiting pin (10) for an electrical connector support system, adapted to be mounted in a short-circuiting ring of an electrical connector carrier in a direction parallel to the mounting direction of the bushing ring. circuit, said shorting pin comprising: - two short-circuiting elements (11) adapted to come into contact with a respective contact pin of an electrical connector support and short-circuit said contact pins, - to at least one first grounding element (12) adapted to contact a grounding contact of a plug-in electrical connector in the electrical connector holder, and - at least one second grounding element mass (13) adapted to come into contact with a conductive part of an electrical connector support, characterized in that at least one second grounding element (13) is designed in the form of a paw or wing c comprising a connecting portion (14) provided in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction (50), and a contact portion (15) angled with respect to the connecting portion (14) so as to come in contact with a conductive part of an electrical connector support in at least two contact areas. The shorting pin (10) according to claim 1, wherein at least one second grounding element (13) is resiliently deformable in at least two different directions (51, 52, 53) of such so that a pressure can be applied simultaneously on each of said two contact areas in a respective direction (52, 53) different. 3. Shorting pin (10) according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the contact portion (15) is deformable as a whole resiliently with respect to the connection portion (14) in a first direction 3036861 14 (51), in particular a radial direction, in a plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction (50). The shorting pin (10) according to claim 3, wherein the contact portion (15) is further resiliently deformable locally relative to the connection portion (14) in at least a second direction ( 52, 53), preferably in two other directions (52, 53), different from the first direction (51) in the plane substantially perpendicular to the mounting direction (50). The shorting pin (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said contact portion (15) is angled, in particular V-shaped, so as to come into contact with two zones. of contact of the electrical connector support. The shorting pin (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said contact portion (15) comprises two angled walls (16, 17) adapted to engage a portion conductive of an electrical connector support in a respective contact area. The shorting pin (10) according to any of the preceding claims, comprising four second grounding elements (14). An electrical connector support system (40), particularly a primer support system, comprising a short-circuiting ring (20) and a short-circuiting pin (10) according to any of claims 1 at 7.