GB2193050A

GB2193050A - Rail-mount polarized latched connectors

Info

Publication number: GB2193050A
Application number: GB08716743A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Safa Kirma
Original assignee: Messerschmitt Bolkow Blohm AG
Current assignee: Airbus Defence and Space GmbH
Priority date: 1986-07-22
Filing date: 1987-07-16
Publication date: 1988-01-27
Anticipated expiration: 2007-07-16
Also published as: DE3624678A1; GB8716743D0; GB2193050B; FR2602100A1

Abstract

Plug (2) and socket (1) are releasably latched to one another by spring-loaded lever (18), Fig. 1 or leaf-spring (36), Fig. 4. The plug and/or the socket (1, 2) has a foot (3a) for insertion into a mounting rail. The foot may have through-holes to enable it to be bolted to a substrate. Pairs of connectors (1, 2) are appropriately matched by polarizing coding elements 35 inserted into aligned bores inside the respective connectors (1, 2). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A lockable elctrical plug-in connection This invention relates to an electrical plug-in connection.

A plug-in connection described in German Patent Specification DE-OS 34 08 115 consists of a pin-type plug as well as a socket plug which each have a housing. One of the plugs has a mechanism, which has to be actuated transversely to the plug-in direction, which co-operates with appropriate elements arranged on the respective counter-plug for locking the plugs to one another. Means for coding or identifying and polarising, i.e. providing direction to, the parts of the plug-in connection are also provided on both plugs.

In this known connection the coding is achieved by a number of coding profiles which extend in the plug-in direction and which are arranged on an inner wall of the pin chamber and laterally of the socket chamber and which are fashioned in one piece with the housings and are individually removable.

One of the plugs can be mounted securely on a substrate by a catch connection or snapin-fitting. To achieve this, the relevant plug has at least two hook-shaped adjoint-pieces, at least one of which is displaceable contrary to the force of a spring in such a way that the plug engages the substrate simply by introduction of the adjoint-pieces into corresponding bores in the substrate.

A particular disadvantage of fixing the plug housing to a substrate in this way by means of the catch connection is that suitable bores have firstly to be provided at appropriate positions on the substrate. This also applies to those installation locations at which there are to be found mounting rails for distributor modules. In new installations these rails are usually used only to a limited extent, but they are useful in providing space for additional distributors in the event of widening of any system. Also, the coding in the known connections by means of the said profiles is not very advantageous for mass production, since each newly produced uncoded connection requires its coding means in order to be capable of being plugged in at all.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to develop a plug-in connection of similar kind in which the plug that is capable of being mounted on a substrate can also be received by a rail designed for mounting distributors. A further object is to simplify the means of coding the connection.

This object is achieved in accordance with the invention by provision of an electrical plug-in connection consisting of a pin-type plug as well as a socket plug, which each have a housing, in which respect one of the plugs has a mechanism for locking the plugs to one another or, respectively, unlocking them from one another and means for coding the plug-in connection are provided, characterised in that the socket plug or the pin-type plug has a foot for insertion into a mounting rail.

The advantage of the aforesaid construction is that the plug that is to be fastened to a substrate can be mounted without additional bores and additional fastening means.

Preferably the foot has at least one throughhole for fastening to a substrate by means of screws or bolts.

The locking mechanism of the plug-in connection is preferably either formed by a spring-loaded lever mounted on one of the plugs, which lever co-operates with a projection provided on the respective counter plug, or by a leaf spring arranged on one of the plugs, which leaf spring co-operates with a hood or cap which is arranged on the respective counter-plug and which is provided with a stop and an opening. Such locking mechanismsat the same time serve as polarising mechanisms by determining the necessary engagement directions of the respective plugs.

Advantageously both plugs have coding bores which are axially in alignment with one another and into which a coding element which has a collar is insertable. As a result of this simple coding means production expenditure is reduced and storekeeping is simplified compared to previous plug-in connections.

Also, plug-in connections coded in this way require no special coding measures, and are even usable without coding.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a first preferred embodiment of the plug-in connection of the invention; Fig. 2 is an end view of the plug-in connection in the direction of the arrow II in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the same plug-in connection in the direction of the arrow Ill in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary schematic side view illustrating a locking mechanism with a leaf spring in an alternative embodiment of the plug-in connection of the invention; Fig. 5 shows the locking mechanism of Fig.

4 with the respective parts on the respective plugs separated; and Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing a leaf spring made of plastics material in a modified embodiment of the connection of the invention.

Figures 1 and 2 show a plug-in connection consisting of a socket plug 1 and a pin-type plug 2 in the locked state. The socket plug 1 consists of a substantially rectangular housing 3 having inserted sockets 4 which are fixed in position by securing elements 5. Inserted into the housing 3, to the left in Fig. 1, is a sealing pad 6 having passageways 7 therethrough, which passageways, as shown, are provided with sealing lips. The sockets 4, which may be obtained as standard parts, are introduced into the housing 3, together with the respective leads connected thereto, from the left through the sealing pad 6 by means of an appropriate tool. In this respect, once each socket 4 is installed its tongue-shaped securing element 5 engages behind a collar 8 to hold it in place. If repair is necessary, the socket 4 can be removed again from the plug just as easily.

The housing 3 has two differently-orientated T-grooves 9 and 10, into which stress or tension relief means (not shown here) are insertable.

Integrally formed in one piece with the housing 3 is a foot 3a for mounting in a distributor rail. This foot 3a has different widths B, and B2 defining the T-shape necessary for fastening into a distributor rail. A T-groove 11 serves to receive an identification plate (not shown here).

The pin-type plug 2 consists of a substantially rectangular housing 12 in which pins 13 are mounted. Just as in the socket plug 1, securing elements 5 and a sealing pad 6 are provided. Furthermore, the housing 2 has two differently-orientated T-grodves 14 and 15 for optionally insertable tension relief means as well as a T-groove 16 for an identification plate.

The mechanism whereby the plugs 1, 2 are locked together comprises a lever 18 which is swingably mounted on the housing 2 about a bolt or pin 17 and to which an anti-clockwise moment (as seen in Fig. 1) is imparted by a compression spring 19. The rotary motion resulting from the spring bias is limited in the non-locked state of the lever 18 by a stop 20. The lever 18 has a hook 21 and a grip surface 22. The hook 21 co-operates or interengages with a projection or nose 23 which is present on the housing 1 and which has a run-up incline 24 and a locking surface 25.

The two parts 18, 23 of this locking mechanism automatically engage when the plugs 1 and 2 are brought together. To unlock the plugs 1, 2 the hook 21 is simply released by pressure on the grip surface 22. This design requires no special measure for polarising (i.e.

ensuring the lugs connect in the correct orientation) since wrong plugging-in of the pin-type plug 2 is prevented by the locking mechanism itself.

As indicated in Fig. 2, the foot 3a has two flange-shaped adjoint-pieces 26 and 27 which are provided with through-holes 28 and 29.

Thus the plug 1 can be fastened to a substrate by screws or bolts if a reception rail is not available or not used. In this respect, hexagonal depressions 30 and 3 1 serve for torsionally-secure reception of appropriate nuts or bolt heads. So that the insertion of the plug 1 into a distributor rail is achieved in a manner which is equally as advantageous as insertion of a distributor, the width F of the flanges 26 and 27 is preferably no greater than the width B2 of the foot 3a. Moreover, to enable the foot 3a to be rotated within the rail, the side surfaces 32 and 33 are curved in such a way that they extend concentrically about the vertical centre axis of the foot 3a.

The plug 1 has at each side an abutment surface 34 against which an endpiece for fixing the plug 1 in a mounting rail can abut.

As shown in Fig. 2, the sealing pad 6 has sixteen bores, so that a maximum of sixteen leads are connectable with this plug-in connection. However, such plugs are, as a rule, occupied only up to a specific percentage of the number of poles. Therefore, some of the socket bores of the plug 1 and the pin bores, in alignment therewith, of the plug 2 can be utilised to produce a coding. In principle these coding bores have dimensions which are identical with the socket or pin bores, although they are drilled out in the region of the plug-in apertures (i.e. in the regions adjacent the abutting surfaces of the plugs 1, 2) to the outer diameter of the sockets 4 or, respectively, of the pins 13. Fig. 1 shows a coding bore which continues from the plug 1 through the plug 2 and into which a coding element 35 has been inserted from the end of the plug 2 remote from the plug 1.In a similar manner to the sockets 4 and the pins 13, this element 35 is held by a securing element 5 and can be removed again with an appropriate tool. The principle of this coding is that two plugs which should not be connected to one another are not physically connectable to one another if they both have a coding element 35 in a specific coding bore. In this way plugs can reliably be prevented from being connected to wrong plugs either of the same type or of the other type.

As a result of the provision of the foot 3a, the depicted plug 1 can be inserted into a reception rail in accordance with NSA 937901 for distributor modules. In this way, special measures, such as drilling, screwing and so forth for the fastening of the plug are abolished. As a result of this arrangement, the plug 1 can take over non-occupied contacts of the rail and, furthermore, the possibility arises that the plug 1 may be able to take over distributor functions. To do this, the relevant sockets 4 must be connected together outside the plug 1 by appropriate leads. Thus, in specific cases, distributor modules can be dispensed with.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of a socket plug 1 and a pin-type plug 2 having a different mechanism for releasably locking the plug-in connection. In this respect, a leaf spring 36 is mounted on the socket plug 1 by this spring being conducted through an eyelet 37 and then being fixed by means of an integrally formed taper plug or spike 38. The pin-type plug 2 has a hood or cap 39 which is pro vided, at its left-hand lower side in Fig. 4, with a stop 40. Furthermore, an opening 41 is provided on the hood or cap 39 in the vicinity of the stop 40.

Figure 5 shows the same connection with the plugs 1, 2 separated, from each other.

When the plugs 1, 2 are brought together, the left-hand edge of the stop 40 slides over the leaf spring 36 and forces this downwards.

When the plug-in operation is concluded, the spring 36 springs upwards again and grips behind the stop 40, so that both plugs are locked together. To unlock (release) the plugs 1, 2, the spring 36 is simply forced downwards by means of a screwdriver 42 placed through the opening 41, as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 4.

Figure 6 shows a modified embodiment in which the leaf spring 43 is integrally formed of plastics directly onto the housing of the plug 1.

The plug-in connection is also polarised by the locking mechanism show in Figs. 4 to 6, without any additional means being required.

Claims

1. A multi-pole electrical plug-in connection of rectangular shape, consisting of a pin-type plug as well as a socket plug, which each have a housing, in which respect one of the plugs has a mechanism for locking the plugs to one another or,respectively, unlocking them from one another and means for coding the plug-in connection are provided, characterised in that the socket plug or the pin-type plug has a foot for insertion into a mounting rail.

2. A plug-in connection as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the foot has at least one through-hole for fastening to a substrate.

3. A plug-in connection as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the plug having the foot is provided with lateral abutment surfaces for endpieces.

4. A plug-in connection as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the mechanism for locking the plugs to one another is formed by a spring-loaded lever mounted on one of the plugs, which lever cooperates with a projection provided on the respective counter-plug.

5. A plug-in connection as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the mechanism for locking the plugs to one another is formed by a leaf spring arranged on one of the plugs, which leaf spring co-operates with a hood or cap which is arranged on the respective counter-plug and which is provided with a stop and an opening.

6. A plug-in connection as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that both plugs have coding bores which are axially in alignment with one another and into which a coding element which has a collar is insertable.

7. An electrical plug-in connection compris- ing a pin-type plug and a socket plug and having a mechanism for releasabiy locking these plugs to each other as well as identification or coding means, characterised in that one of the plugs has a foot for insertion into a mounting rail.

8. An electrical plug-in connection substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3, or in Figs.

4 and 5, or in Fig. 6 of the accompanying drawings.