JP2014520380A - Electrical connection system and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

  The electrical connector comprises a metal shield (7) with a rear part having a polygonal cross section. The flexible sheet (13) includes a flexible conductive front section that surrounds the rear of the metal shield. The mounting system surrounds the front section of the flexible sheet (13) and guides the rigid arms (16a, 16b) that are interconnected to correspond to the polygonal cross-section and the adjacent rigid arms along radial degrees of freedom. And an adjustment mechanism formed as described above.

Description

  The present invention relates to the connection system and the manufacturing method thereof.

  An electrical connector typically includes an electrically insulating housing formed with a plurality of receptacles for receiving electrical terminals. These electrical terminals are usually formed as the front ends of individual electrical wires. It is common to provide an electrical shield that surrounds these receptacles to protect the current flowing through the terminals from electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the surrounding environment.

  A cable is also provided that includes a flexible conductive sheet that surrounds the front end of the electrical wire.

  In order to develop protection from electromagnetic interference, it is important to ensure a continuous electrical connection between the metal shield of the connector and the sheet. This is very problematic, especially when the shield has a polygonal cross section.

  The present invention is aimed especially at alleviating these drawbacks.

  For this purpose, an electrical connection system is provided. The system includes an electrical connector, a flexible sheet, and an attachment system.

  The electrical connector comprises a metal shield with a rear portion having a polygonal cross section.

  The flexible sheet includes a flexible conductive front section that surrounds the rear of the metal shield.

  The mounting system surrounds the front section of the flexible sheet. The mounting system includes a rigid arm that is interconnected and corresponds to a polygonal cross-section, and an adjustment mechanism that guides adjacent rigid arms with respect to each other along a radial degree of freedom.

  Together with these features, the adjustment mechanism allows the rigid arm to move radially until the rigid arm fits closely into the polygonal cross section of the shield and clamps the flexible sheet therebetween. This makes it possible to fit the sheet closely to the shield.

  In some embodiments, one or more of the features defined in the dependent claims may be used.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings of one embodiment provided as a non-limiting example.

1 shows an exploded perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a conductive sheet used for the cable of Figure 1; The perspective view from the lower side of a rigid arm is shown. The perspective view from the upper side of a rigid arm is shown. It is the figure which showed the assembly of the electrical connection system. It is the figure which showed the assembly of the electrical connection system. It is the figure which showed the assembly of the electrical connection system.

  In the different figures, the same reference signs designate similar or analogous elements.

  FIG. 1 shows an electrical connection system 1 comprising an electrical connector 2, a cable 3 and a mounting system 4.

  The electrical connector 2 includes a housing 5 formed of an electrically insulating material and forming a plurality of electrical connection paths. In the present embodiment, the electrical connector includes two paths 6a and 6b. The paths 6a and 6b are open at the first end 2a and the opposite second end 2b (not visible in FIG. 1), receive the electrical cable 3 at the first end 2a, It receives electrical terminals from a complementary connector designed to mate with an electrical connector 2 (also not shown) at the two ends 2b. In the illustrated embodiment, the path is a right angle. The cable 3 is received along the axis inside the electrical connector 2, this axis being the axis X, the two paths being arranged adjacent to each other along the direction Y. The direction Z is the third direction, and here corresponds to the direction of mating with a complementary connector. At least at the first end 2a, the housing has a polygonal cross section (here a rectangular cross section).

  The housing 5 is surrounded by a metal shield 7, and the metal shield 7 is provided as a thin metal sheet formed around the housing 5, for example. This is especially the case at the first end 2a of the electrical connector 2, where the shield also has a polygonal (rectangular) cross section. The same profile can be provided along the entire receptacle. The metal shield is accessible from the second end 2b of the electrical connector and may come into contact with a complementary shield of a complementary connector (not shown). In particular, the metal shield 7 surrounds all the paths, reducing electromagnetic interference between the paths and the outside world.

  As shown in this embodiment, the electrical connector 2 may include a cover 8 that surrounds the metal shield 7 and may provide one or more specific functions. However, at this stage it is not considered essential for the present invention.

  The cable 3 includes a plurality of electric wires 9 a and 9 b, and each wire corresponds to a predetermined receptacle 6 a and 6 b of the housing 2. The electrical wire extends practically along direction X and has a first end with individual electrical terminals 10a, 10b. These conductive terminals are connected (for example by crimping) to the electrical core of the electrical wire, which core is individually surrounded by insulating sheaths 11a, 11b. Each wire may also include a separate shield insulated from the core between the sheath and the core. The seals 12a and 12b are provided so as to surround the front ends of the individual sheaths, and the paths 6a and 6b may be sealed from the rear after introduction into the inside of the electric terminals. The flexible sheet 13 surrounds the front end of the cable 3. In particular, the sheet surrounds the front end of the cable 3, all electrical terminals and their individual seals. The seat extends from the opened front end 14a to, for example, a rear end (not shown) connected to the ground. The sheet may be connected to ground by being connected to the shield of the individual wires 9a, 9b. The sheet 13 is conductive, for example, a braid knitted from a conductive wire. For example, the second end of the sheet 13 is electrically connected to the inner shield (contained insulatively between the outer sheath of the wire and the core) of each individual wire 9a, 9b in a manner known per se. Has been. The front portion 15 of the sheet 13 is sized to be disposed around the metal shield 7 at the first end of the electrical connector 2.

  The mounting system 4 is provided so as to surround the front part 15 of the flexible sheet 13 and to bring this front part into intimate electrical contact with the rear end of the metal shield 7, the state of which is shown in FIG. This is described in detail below with reference to FIG. 4c.

  In particular, the mounting system 4 comprises two identical rigid arms 16a, 16b. Arm 16a is described below in connection with FIGS. 3a and 3b. This description also applies to the same arm 16b. The arm 16a is bent at a right angle and has a cross section that extends practically along half the polygonal cross section of the metal shield 7. The arm is symmetric with respect to the YZ plane. The arm 16a includes a first end 17a and a second end 17b. The first end portion 17a and the second end portion 17b are different and have shapes corresponding to each other, and the first end portion 17a of the first arm 16a corresponds to the second end portion 17b of the second arm 16b. . The end portions 17a and 17b are provided at two corners of the rectangular cross section of the shield 7, and particularly in the case of the present embodiment, they are provided at two opposite corner portions along the diagonal of the rectangle. Accordingly, the arm 16a includes a first arm portion 18a extending from the first end portion 17a to the intermediate vertex 19 and a second arm portion 18b extending from the intermediate vertex to the second end portion 17b. The apex 19 corresponds to the corner of the metal shield, which is intermediate between the two corners corresponding to the ends 17a and 17b of the arm 16a.

  The inner surface 20 of the arm 16a may include a groove 21 extending along the side of the metal shield from one end 17a to the other end 17b. The outer surface 22 may comprise two scaly guide systems. The outer guide system comprises a rib 23 that extends from one end 17a to the other end 17b of the arm and an inner rib 24 that also extends between the two ends 17a and 17b, the inner rib 24 having two ribs. 23, projecting lower than the outer rib 23 with respect to the outer surface 22. For example, no inner rib is provided at the apex 19.

  The first end 17a is provided with a peg 25, and the second end 17b is provided with a groove 26 which is complementary to the peg 25 and has an open end 27 and a closed end 28 opposite thereto. In this embodiment, due to symmetry, it comprises substantially two pegs and two complementary grooves, the illustrated peg being associated with a groove not shown, and the illustrated groove 26 Is associated with a peg not shown. The groove 26 is directed along the tangential direction, and here is a direction parallel to another diagonal line of the rectangle coupled to the first end 17a and the second end 17b. The pegs and grooves are provided on the individual heads 30 and the heads are elastically flexible so that they can be bent out of the YZ plane with respect to the individual carrier arm portions 18a and 18b.

  The assembly of the electrical connection system will now be described in connection with FIGS. 4a, 4b, and 4c. As a first step, the cable 3 is assembled to the housing 5. In particular, each wire 9a, 9b is inserted into an individual path 6a, 6b of the connector housing, and the individual electrical terminals 10a, 10b are disposed entirely within the housing. The seals 12a and 12b tightly seal each path, and counteract the intrusion of foreign matter from the rear part. At the same time, the flexible sheet 13 is attached with its front part 15 so as to loosely surround the first end 2a of the electrical connector, in particular so as to surround and loosely contact the rear part of the shield 7.

  In the second stage, the first arm 16a and the second arm 16b of the mounting system provided separately are the pegs provided at the first end of the second arm 16b and the slots at the second end of the first arm 16a. They are assembled together by inserting into them. The open end 27 of the slot is used for this insertion. Accordingly, the first arm 16a and the second arm 16b can be detachably connected to each other, and in this stage, the first arm 16a and the second arm 16b are related to the axis X1 formed by the peg described above. It is also possible to be connected to each other so as to be rotatable by rotation. This peg is received at the closed end 28 of the groove 26 opposite the open end 27. This position corresponds to the pre-adjustment state of the two arms.

  For example, the two arms move around the front portion 15 of the seat 13 as the arms rotate relative to each other about the axis X1 up to an opening 29 provided between two opposite unconnected ends. Placed in. The opening is sufficiently large so that the rear part of the shield 7 and the front part of the sheet 13 are inserted into the opening.

  One arm is provided at an accurate position. For example, the second arm 16 b is in intimate contact with the adjacent portion of the sheet 13, and thus the sheet 13 maintains intimate contact with the metal shield 7. The first arm 16a is rotated about the axis X1 relative to the second arm 16b to assemble the first end 17a of the first arm to the second end 17b of the second arm at the opposite corner. As seen in FIG. 4c, the peg 15 at the first end of the second arm 16b is provided in the groove 26 at the second end of the second arm 16b. The peg 25 is carried by the head 30, and the head 30 is formed elastically and flexibly with respect to the first portion 18a with respect to the bending axis parallel to the Z direction, as indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3b. .

  During the assembly of the two arms as described above, the head 30 is elastically deflected inward until the peg 25 reaches the groove 26 from the closed end 28 side, whereby the head 30 is elastically moved toward the rest position. Springback is possible. However, the head 30 may remain slightly deflected at this stage and may be adapted to obtain the holding force of the two arms together by friction.

  In this stage, the rigid arms are interconnected to correspond to the polygonal cross section of the rear of the metal shield, however, there is some play to accommodate the front 15 of the flexible sheet 13 between them. There is. This play is provided by allowing the pegs 15 to slide within the individual slots 26 at the two opposite corners on the diagonal. Accordingly, the two arms 16a and 16b are provided to slide relative to each other along a so-called radial degree of freedom by sliding the peg 15 in the groove 26 along two parallel tangential directions. .

  The movement of the two arms relative to each other expands or reduces the perimeter of the polygonal cross section formed by the interconnected arms, depending on the direction of the slide.

  Returning now to FIG. 1, a continuously adjustable link 31, such as a tie wrap, is provided surrounding the interconnected arms. The link is very flexible because it bends sharply at the edges. The link is initially guided by two outer ribs 23 and then when guided by the inner ribs 24 of the arm. The tightening is due to the relative movement of the two arms relative to each other along the radial degree of freedom, which occurs until the arms fit closely against the metal shield and the front of the seat between them. . Thus, an excellent electrical connection between the sheet and the shield is provided. This connection is close and uniform.

  In various embodiments, the shield cross-section can be a polygon with a different number of sides, eg, three sides or more than three sides. In such cases, the arms are adapted accordingly. In any case, it is helpful to use two arms that are identical to each other to surround the cross section of the shield. In addition, more than one arm can be provided. The arms may cover different numbers of sides, such as two sides of the cross-section as shown, or one side and two sides (this variation is four sides) This also applies to the embodiment of FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Electrical connector system 2 ... Electrical connector 3 ... Cable 4 ... Mounting system 5 ... Housing 6a, 6b ... Receptacle 7 ... Metal shield 8 ... Cover 9a, 9b ... Electric wires 10a and 10b ... Electric terminals 11a and 11b ... Insulating sheaths 12a and 12b ... Seal 13 ... Flexible sheets 16a and 16b ... Rigid arm 19 ... Intermediate vertex 21 ... Inner surface 23 ... Outer rib 24 ... Inner rib 25 ... Peg 26 ... Groove 27 ... Open end 28 ... Closed end 30 ... Head 31 ... Link

Claims (14)

An electrical connection system comprising an electrical connector, a flexible sheet, and an attachment system,
The electrical connector (2) comprises a metal shield (7) with a rear portion having a polygonal cross section,
The flexible sheet (13) comprises a flexible conductive front section surrounding the rear of the metal shield;
The mounting system (4) surrounds the front section of the flexible sheet and is interconnected to the rigid arms (16a, 16b) corresponding to the polygonal cross section and to each other along radial degrees of freedom. And an adjusting mechanism (25, 26) configured to guide the adjacent rigid arm.   The mounting system further comprises a continuously adjustable link (31) that surrounds the rigid arm and the rigid arm (16a, 16b) is an adjustment that fits closely around the rear of the metal shield. The electrical connection system according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connection system is lockable in position. An electrical connection system comprising an electrical connector, a flexible sheet, and an attachment system,
The electrical connector (2) comprises a metal shield (7) with a rear portion having a polygonal cross section,
The flexible sheet (13) comprises a flexible conductive front section surrounding the rear of the metal shield;
The mounting system (4) surrounds the front section of the flexible sheet and is interconnected to the rigid arms (16a, 16b) corresponding to the polygonal cross section and to each other along radial degrees of freedom. An adjustment mechanism (25, 26) configured to guide the adjacent rigid arm and an adjustment that surrounds the rigid arm and the rigid arm (16a, 16b) fits closely around the rear of the metal shield An electrical connection system, characterized in that it comprises a continuously adjustable link (31) lockable in position.   The first arm (16a) is characterized by having a first end (17a) removably connectable with an associated second end (17b) of the second arm (16b). The electrical connection system as described in any one of Claims 1-3.   The first arm (16a) is provided with a first end (17a) that can be rotatably connected to an associated second end (17b) of the second arm (16b). The electrical connection system as described in any one of Claims 1-4.   The first arm (16a) includes a first end (17a) that is maintained connectable to an associated second end (17b) of the second arm (16b) in a pre-adjusted state. The electrical connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An electrical connection system comprising an electrical connector, a flexible sheet, and an attachment system,
The electrical connector (2) comprises a metal shield (7) with a rear portion having a polygonal cross section,
The flexible sheet (13) comprises a flexible conductive front section surrounding the rear of the metal shield;
The attachment system (4) comprises a rigid arm (16a, 16b) surrounding the front section of the flexible sheet and interconnected to correspond to the polygonal cross section, the first arm (16a) A first end (17a) that can be removably and rotatably connected to an associated second end (17b) of two arms (16b), said first arm (16a) being in a pre-adjusted state Is maintained connectable to the associated second arm (16b);
The adjustment system further comprises an adjustment mechanism (25, 26) configured to guide the rigid arms adjacent to each other along a radial degree of freedom from the pre-adjustment state to the adjustment state;
The mounting system is continuously adjustable, surrounding the rigid arm and being lockable in an adjustment position where the rigid arm (16a, 16b) fits closely around the rear of the metal shield in the adjusted state. An electrical connection system further comprising a link (31).   The first arm (16a) includes a first end (17a) having a peg (25), and a second arm (16b) adjacent to the first arm (16a) is a first end of the first arm (16a). A second end (17b) associated with one end (17a) is provided, the second end of the second arm being provided with a guide groove (26) for receiving the peg (25) and extending tangentially. The electrical connection system according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connection system is provided.   The electrical connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that all arms (16a, 16b) are identical.   The electrical connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the arms are interconnected at corners of a polygonal cross section.   The electrical connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the flexible sheet (13) is a braid knitted from a conductive wire.   The electrical connector includes a housing formed with a receptacle (6a, 6b) for receiving an electrical terminal (10a, 10b) electrically connected to an electrical terminal of an electrical connector to be fitted, and the metal shield ( The electrical connection system according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein 7) surrounds the receptacle.   13. An electrical connection system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises the electrical connector (2) and the mounting system (4). Assembly for the system. A method of manufacturing an electrical connection system comprising:
Providing an electrical connector (2) comprising a metal shield (7) with a rear portion having a polygonal cross section;
Surrounding the rear of the metal shield with a flexible sheet (13) with a flexible conductive front section;
Surrounding a front section of the flexible sheet with a mounting system (4) comprising a rigid arm (16a, 16b), the rigid arm being interconnected to correspond to a polygonal cross section; ,
Adapting the seat (13) to the shield (7) together with the adjusting mechanism (25, 26) of the mounting system, the mounting system being adjacent to each other along a radial degree of freedom. And (16a, 16b) adapted to guide the sheet to the shield.

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