GB2370163A

GB2370163A - Plug bridge for non-rewirable plug

Info

Publication number: GB2370163A
Application number: GB0129358A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Waible
Original assignee: Taller GmbH
Current assignee: Taller GmbH
Priority date: 2000-12-15
Filing date: 2001-12-07
Publication date: 2002-06-19
Anticipated expiration: 2021-12-07
Also published as: DE10062738B4; GB2370163B; FR2818449A1; GB0129358D0; DE10062738A1; FR2818449B1

Abstract

A plug bridge has at least one crimp connection 2 and a cover 9 for covering the at least one crimp connection by moving into place. Preferably, the cover is formed with a film hinge and is pivoted to cover crimp connections 2 arranged adjacently in a row.

Description

A PLUG BRIDGE

The present invention relates to the improvement of plug bridges.

5 Plug bridges are parts of mains plugs and are used in the transition region between the plug pins to be pushed into a socket and the connecting cables of the mains leads.

On mains plugs there are generally a plurality of plug pins and possibly earthing clips, etc. for example for the 10 connection of a phasing line, neutral conductor and earth which must be correctly positioned relative to one another and be connected to the stripped ends of the connecting cable. The plug bridge serves to facilitate this connection and positioning in the production of the plugs. It 15 comprises a plastic base shape in which upwardly and downwardly projecting plug pins for receiving are cast or injected. The conductor ends are connected to the plug pins in that they are either crimped on receiving sleeves provided directly on the plug pins or are connected at a 20 crimping point to conducting metal sheets which lead to the plug pins. It is a problem in every case that on crimping the wires of the connecting lead must be completely enclosed and must neither touch one another nor pass through the gripping member as otherwise there may either 25 be short circuits or users may receive possibly fatal electric shocks.

It is known to simplify the fitting of wires into the crimping point using funnel-shaped insert aids. Examples of such arrangements are disclosed in DE 38 07 716.7 and DE 39 30 11 315 for example.

Without doubt the known arrangement prevents wire ends projecting slightly in processing from being pushed past the receiving sleeve and then sticking out of the casting compound forming the gripping member of the plug to cause 35 fatal electric shocks for a user. The problem is that this arrangement is not suitable for all plug bridges, in particular for plugs having fitted fuses, such as the plugs

commonly used in Great Britain for example, in which lateral crimp connections are provided.

In such plugs in which no round pins having a funnel-

shaped opening at the top are used it is desirable on 5 grounds of overall height to provide crimp connections projecting laterally over the plug bridge edge which are connected to the plug pins via electrically conducting metal sheets. An arrangement has already been proposed in which previously insert funnels were further provided via 10the crimp region on the plug bridge edge; Of DE 100 51 348.4. In this case, however, due to the limited geometry for crimping tools crimping as such is difficult which may result in a delicate crimping tool design and hence reduce serviceable lives.

15It is, moreover, desirable on grounds of production technology to be able to crimp the plug bridges on a first machine and to extrude them on a second. If this is desired it must be adequately ensured that the crimped plug bridges are not damaged or affected during transport, which 20 requires protection of the crimping regions.

According to the present invention there is provided a plug bridge having at least one crimp connection and a cover for covering selected plug bridge regions, wherein the cover comprises at least one part which can move over 25 the at least one crimp connection.

Thus, a first fundamental concept of the invention consists in that in a plug bridge having at least one crimp connection and a cover for covering certain plug bridge areas it is provided that the cover comprises at least one 30 part moving over the at least one crimp connection.

Here the present invention makes use of the finding that a high degree of security can be achieved by moving a cover over the crimp connection only after crimping; thus, according to the invention it is no longer necessary to 35 arrange the cover over the crimping point while crimping is still in progress. Due to the protection by means of the movable member of the cover achieved by moving the crimping

part over the crimp connections it is ensured that even without a funnelshaped insert aid which mechanically protects the crimped regions the interlocking of crimp connections with detrimental consequences for security 5 during transport from the crimping machine to the injection moulding machine can be reliably avoided even when the latter are at widely separated points.

In a preferred variant the plug bridge is provided with crimp connections which are open at the top in a U 10 shape or V-shape and into which leads are inserted from above. It is possible and preferred for a plurality of crimp connections to be arranged beside one another, in particular in parallel. The movable cover can then be moved over a plurality of crimp connections simultaneously.

15 It is possible with the cover to cover a further region outside the crimp connections. In particular in the region of the fuse in which a miniature fuse accessible from the outside is arranged in the plug bridge or a filter region for filtering out high-frequency interference can be 20 used. In doing so a part of the cover can be fixed, being movable, for instance, over the miniature fuse and another part. The cover or its movable part is preferably arranged in folding manner, it being folded into a position remote 25 from the crimp connections during insertion of the stripped ends of the leads into the crimp connections and during the crimping operation and being folded over the crimp connections only after crimping has been carried out.

The preferred folding capability is preferably 30 achieved by fastening the member which is movable over the crimp connections by an integral hinge to another part, in particular a fixed cover part. This allows the one-piece construction of the cover as a whole and in this way facilitates production, since during manufacture of the 35 plug bridge fewer parts need to be joined to one another which has a distinctly positive effect on the pricing of a mass product such as this one.

The part which moves over the crimp connections can preferably be fixed, for which purpose, in particular parallel plug pins to be extended from below on to the folding lid can be used which or whose ends penetrate into 5 respective openings in the folding lid.

From the folding lid partition walls can hang down to between the crimp connections and preferably to below the lower edge of the crimp connections, in order to insulate any incompletely crimped wires electrically from one 10 another. At the same time the lid as well as the base structure of the plug bridge is preferably formed from a highinsulating plastic.

The invention further relates to a method for the production of a plug bridge.

15 The invention is described below only by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1 shows a plug bridge according to the present invention in the unfolded state; 20 Fig 2 shows the plug bridge of the present invention with the lid folded down; Fig 3 shows the plug bridge of the present invention in side elevation; and Fig 4 shows a plug bridge of the same standard for 25 illustrating the fuse region not illustrated in the first example according to the invention and the routing of the connections of crimp connections to plug pins.

According to Fig 1 a plug bridge 1 given the general designation 1 comprises a series of crimp connections 2a, 30 2b, 2c which are connected in electrically conducting manner via metal sheets 3, with which they are produced in one piece, to plug pins 4a, 4b, 4c and are fixed mechanically in position relative to one another by riveting the plug pins 4 to the latter in a base plate 5.

35 The plug bridge 1 possesses a fuse region accessible from the underside 6 which is covered at the top by a cover 7. Arranged on the cover 7 is a part 9 which can be folded

on integral hinges 8 over the crimp connections 2. The crimp connections 2 project over the edge 5a of the base plate 5 (compare Fig 3) and are open upwardly in the shape of a U to allow the insertion of connecting wires from 5 above.

Extending upwards from the base plate are fixing pins 10 whose heads lea penetrate into corresponding openings 11 when the lid is folded down. The openings 11 act together with the fixing pin heads lea to fix in the manner of a 10 press fitting.

Hanging down from the folding lid 9 are partition walls 12 which in their end region 12a taper downwardly in the shape of a wedge so that they are better able to push to the side any wires of a lead to be connected (not shown) 15 projecting from a crimp point.

The plug bridge of the present invention is fitted as follows. First of all a plug bridge 1 is provided with a pre-

assembled folding part 9 capable of folding upwards and 20 hence freeing the crimp connections 2. In a machine the prefitted folding parts 9 are then folded away upwardly and stripped conductor ends are inserted into the crimp connections 2. All the crimp connections 2 are now crimped together in a one work operation with the conductor ends in 25 question without the folding part 9, which is folded away upwards, impeding the crimping tools.

After crimping the connections of the conductor ends with the crimp connections 2 the folding part 9 is folded down, it remaining fixed in this position by fixing it via 30 the fixing pin heads lea which in doing so penetrate into the openings 11. The plug bridge can now be removed from the crimping machine, possibly stored temporarily, and in a succeeding step be encapsulated in an injection machine by a gripping body without there being any risk of the 35 crimp connections being damaged during transport or by renewed grasping to introduce it into the injection moulding machine.

In addition, a short circuit of the conductor connections is reliably prevented by the partition wall which hangs down.

Claims

1. A plug bridge having at least one crimp connection and a cover for covering selected plug bridge regions, wherein 5 the cover comprises at least one part which can move over the at least one crimp connection.

2. A plug bridge according to claim 1, having at least one crimp connection for lead connections inserted from 10 above the plug pins.

3. A plug bridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein a plurality of crimp connections for lead connections inserted from above the plug pins are provided 15 adjacent to one another.

4. A plug bridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cover is arranged to cover a fuse and/or a filter region.

5. A plug bridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one movable part can be folded over the at least one crimp connection.

25

6. A plug bridge according to any of preceding claims, wherein the movable part is arranged by means of a film hinge on the cover arranged over the fuse region and/or the filter region.

30

7. A plug bridge according to any of the preceding claims having plural crimp connections, wherein partition walls hanging down on the moving part are provided for separating the individual crimp regions.

35

8. A plug bridge according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the moving part can be fixed in a position located over the at least one crimp connection.

9. A method for the production of a mains plug, wherein a plug bridge having at least one crimp connection and a covering means for covering certain regions is provided, 5 the covering means comprising at least one part capable of moving over the at least one crimp connection, lead connections being crimped to the crimp connection, the moving part moving over the crimp connection, in particular being folded, the pre-crimped parts being transported to an 10 injection moulding machine and a gripping body being injected around the crimped lead connections and the plug bridge.