RU2368045C1 - Plug protection device (switch protection) - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: electricity.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to electrical engineering and can be used as a protection device for a plug. The protection device has at least one arresting device for the plug of a plug-in connection, locking device, which prevents manual triggering of at least one arresting device, where this locking device includes a locking lower part fixed on the plug, where a separate upper locking device sits on the former.

EFFECT: simpler design.

12 cl, 11 dwg

Description

This invention relates to a safety device for a plug in accordance with the higher concept of claim 1 of the claims.

With the increasing integration into the network of electronic devices in the division of the enterprise and, in particular, in the automated production area of modern industry, the protection of plug connections is becoming increasingly important. Uncontrolled interruption of data transmission within such a network can lead to erroneous controls, unprofitable production defects or fatal data loss.

Therefore, in recent years, devices have been developed to improve the safety and reliability of cable and plug connections. Thus, for example, from WO 02/075859, a safety device for a plug connection is known, in which the plug is provided with a protruding outward, side-shaped safety element into which a conventional, commercially available RJ-45 plug can be inserted. In this case, the latch of this plug is completely closed by the safety element and makes involuntary actuation of the latch impossible. This plug connection can only be disconnected again with a suitable key and in practice protects itself. When using several plug connections thus protected and tightly adjacent to each other, the density of the switching points on the corresponding patch panel is limited by the width of the side of the safety element. Today, there is still a need to further increase the number of switching points used on the patch panel.

Therefore, US Pat. No. 6,863,556 proposes a plug assembly in which the plug latch is in the form of a plug. To prevent the involuntary disconnection of the plug connection above the plug, a movable sleeve is provided which must be moved manually so that the latch cannot be released from the locking tab in the switching socket and thus the plug cannot be removed from the switching socket. Unfortunately, this fully developed again structural unit requires re-equipment of existing cable wiring devices and patch panels that are already equipped cannot be retrofitted in this simple way.

The safety devices also known from US 6851957 or US 6821024 require special changes in the shaping of the plug housing.

Another proposal for the design of a safety device is known from US 2003/0063862. This publication describes an optical duplex connector, on the plug of which is a complexly attached housing. This housing has a valve that protrudes above the end of the plug latches and can be rotated by means of a slide mechanism so that the plug latches are pressed into their open position. Unfortunately, with this device, it cannot be prevented that the latches can remain actuated at any time. In particular, this safety device cannot be blocked.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a lockable and simplest designed safety device, which, with limited space ratios, also makes possible a high density of switching points and is applicable to existing plug devices, in particular standard plugs, that is, it does not require any changes to existing plug shapes.

This problem in accordance with the invention is solved by means of a "safety guard", which has the distinguishing features of claim 1 and, in particular, by means of a safety device for having at least one latch of the plug of the plug connection, which safety device has a lockable locking part that prevents the manual actuation of at least one of the latches, and this locking part includes a locking lower part fixed to the plug onto the cat Rui planted a separate shut-off upper part.

Preferably, the lower closure portion is configured such that it can snap into place on the plug by kinematic closure and / or power closure. To protect the plug connection, the slider part on the latch side has at least one jamming element, which, when the slider is in the closed position, is located at least under one of the latches. In another embodiment, the slider for this on the latch side has at least one covering element, which, when the slider is in the closed position, is at least one of the latches and makes the manipulation of the latter impossible.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the slider is locked by means of a locking lower part. This should ensure safety from unwanted manipulations. Preferably, for this, the slider can be blocked by at least one locking element with a locking lower part mounted on the locking lower part of the block. Of course, that the blocking element can also be well fixed on the locking upper part, respectively, on the slider.

In particular, the locking element can be made as a separate structural part and mainly as a spring tongue so that it latches into the groove of the movable mating part when closed. To unlock the slider again, the blocking element can again be released from the groove with a separate tool, in particular a key.

In a special form of execution, the slider is equipped with a clip with latches, which, when the slider is moved from the closed position to the open position, presses the latch down and this allows the immediate separation of the plug connection without other manipulations.

In another embodiment of the invention, the locking upper part is designed as a housing part that covers the unlocking element, which unlocking element can be actuated using a separate tool, in particular a key, so that this unlocking element when pressed by the tool presses down the latch and this allows a simple disconnection of the plug connection.

With further modification of the safety device in accordance with the invention, the locking upper part may be equipped with interchangeable coding, in particular color coding. Such encodings have proven to be suitable for the installation of plug connections and make it easier for the specialist to correctly connect and install.

This invention can be used with all common latched plug connectors, in particular also with LWL connectors, such as LC connectors, SG connectors, opti-jack connectors, MT connectors or RJ connectors.

The invention will be explained in more detail below using an example of a standard plug connection, in particular by means of an RJ-45 plug and using the drawings. At the same time, they show:

figure 1: three-dimensional representation of the conventional plug RJ-45 with protection against bending;

figure 2: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with figure 1 with a locking lower part;

figure 3: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with figure 2 with the gate in the unlocked position;

figure 4: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with figure 3 with the gate in the locked position;

figure 5: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with figure 4 with a clip with color coding;

6: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with figure 5 in the closed position and with the key inserted for unlocking;

Fig.7: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with Fig.6 with the inserted key in the unlocked position;

Fig: three-dimensional representation of the plug with the clip latch;

figure 9: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with figure 1 with another locking lower part;

figure 10: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with figure 9 with an open part of the housing;

11: three-dimensional representation of the plug in accordance with Fig.9 with a closed part of the housing and a tool for unlocking.

By “plug connection” here is meant a structural element which, with the help of a suitable mating part, allows connections between individual electrical and / or optical conductors. Plug connections always consist of two plug connectors, usually a plug and socket, in an extreme case, an adapter. By “plug” below is meant any type of plug-in connectors, in particular also an LWL plug-in connector, as a rule, these known plugs include a housing with a latch with or without protection against bending.

The plug 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a conventional RJ-45 plug with a latch 2. This latch pops into the mated part, socket, when inserted, and prevents unwanted disconnection of the plug connection. This type of plug has, as a rule, a shielding sheet 3, which shields the contacts and their supply wires from external interference fields. These lead wires are led in cable 4. It turned out to be a suitable place between plug 1 and cable 4 to provide protection against bending 5, which is described, for example, in EP-1128487. This bending protection 5 reduces mechanical stress, in particular pulling forces and bending moments, on the individual contacts and supply wires inside the plug 1. The bending protection 5 shown in FIG. 1 has a flexible part 6 and a rigid part 7, which is suitable for in order to carry additional functional elements, such as, for example, encoding means described in EP-1128487.

FIG. 2 shows the same RJ-45 plug 1 with a latch 2, a shielding sheet 3 and bending protection 5, however with the locking lower part 8 inserted. This locking lower part 8, in an advantageous embodiment, can easily snap onto the rigid part of the housing 7 protection against bending 5, which leads to fastening by kinematic closure and / or with power circuit. Other fixing methods (such as gluing, extrusion cladding, etc.) are well known to the skilled person and may also find good use. Of course, in suitable cases, the locking lower part and the protection against bending can also be performed in one piece, that is, consist of one part. This locking lower part 8, in addition, has a slide guide 9 and two blocking elements 10, 11. This slide guide 9 serves to install another structural part, the slide 12 (figure 3), and allows its sliding movement in the locked and unlocked position . The locking elements 10, 11 shown in FIG. 2 are connected in one piece with the locking lower part 8 and serve to block the slide 12 in its closed position. Of course, these locking elements 10, 11 can also be made of metal material and secured either in the locking lower part 8, or in the locking upper part 12.

Fig. 3 shows the same plug 1 as in Fig. 2, with the locking lower part 8, however, with the slider 12 mounted on the guide of the slider 9 (Fig. 2). This slider 12 can slide on the guide of the slider 9 (Fig. 2) the locking lower part 8 and can move here and there in the axial direction, like a slide. 3, the slider 12 is in its unlocked position, that is, the latch 2 is freely accessible and can be actuated. Both locking elements 10, 11 designed as spring tongues are also free. Essential for the operation of the safety device described in more detail in accordance with the invention, is the jamming element 14 located on the side of the latch, which when the slider 12 is in the closed position appears to lie under the latch 2. It is important that this jamming element 14, if possible, occupies the entire space under the latch 2. Of course, for the same function, instead of the jamming element 14, a closing element can also be provided. With the slider 12 shown in FIG. 3, in addition, grooves 13 are also provided which serve to fasten the color coding clip 16 (FIG. 5). Of course, that instead of the color coding clip 16, other known forms of coding means can also be used, in particular in the form of gears geometrically or mechanically engaged with each other.

Figure 4 shows the plug in accordance with figure 3, however, with the slider 12 positioned in the closed position. In this case, the jamming element 14 extends substantially completely under the latch 2 and thereby prevents the latter from actuating. At the same time, both locking elements 10, 11 (FIG. 3) are now inside the slider 12 and engage in the proper grooves to fix the slider 12 in this closed position, respectively to block. The slider 12 from this position immediately cannot again be moved back to the open position. This ensures that the plug 1 cannot be disconnected involuntarily and / or by undesirable erroneous manipulation from the plug connection, which under certain circumstances can lead to permanent damage, for example, permanent data loss, up to the destruction of machines and / or tools. Of course, the specialist can also immediately apply a differently designed locking elements 10, 11, in particular, he can install the latter on the slider 12 or they can be made and applied of another material, preferably metal.

Fig. 5 shows the same safety device as in Fig. 4, however, the slider 12 is equipped with a color coding clip 16. The slider 12 is in the closed position and prevents the latch 2 from being pressed down. At the same time, the slider 12 is locked by the engaged locking elements 10 , 11, that is, this part can no longer move immediately from this position. To make this possible, a separate key 15 is required (Fig. 6), which is able to squeeze both locking elements 10, 11 out of their grooves (not shown). Only this allows the slider 12 to move again on the guide of the slider 9 (figure 2) and, in particular, to bring into the open state.

6 shows a safety device in accordance with FIG. 5, however, with the key 15 inserted. If the key 15 is in the position shown here, the slider 12 can be unlocked, but still in the closed position, that is, the slider 12 still prevents being brought into latch action 2.

Only when the slider 12 is moved to its unlocking position, as shown in FIG. 7, the latch 2 of the plug 1 again becomes available and it can again be actuated to disconnect the plug 1 from its connection. The geometry of the key 15 is aligned with the special shape and availability of the locking elements 10, 11. The use of counterfeit key and lock geometries is a standard technical action of a specialist and is not the subject of this invention.

A particular modification of the safety device in accordance with the invention is shown in FIG. With this form of execution on the locking bottom part 8, a clip is connected by a hinge with latches 17 of the bracket type. By moving the slider 12 from the closed position of FIG. 8 to the open position, the clip with latches 17 is rotated so that it presses the latch 2 down and holds the latch 2 pressed in the open position. After release, this no longer needs to be separately actuated, and the plug connection can be disconnected in the simplest way.

Fig.9 shows another design of a safety device in accordance with the invention without a housing part. For this device, the locking lower part 8 installed above the plug 1 is provided with a release element 18. It has a structural part in the form of a bracket that protrudes above the latch 2 of the plug 1. This structural part in the form of a bracket is spring-loaded and can be pressed downward by the tool through the side plates 19. Using the clamp of the structural part in the form of a bracket of this unlocking element 18, the latch 2 is also pressed down and squeezed out of its blocking position, which can pull the plug out of the plug connection Ie plug connection may be disconnected.

Figure 10 explains how the housing 12 of the safety device in accordance with the invention can be fitted onto the locking lower part 8. The snap fasteners located in the corner zones fix the housing 12 in a mounted state on the locking lower part. The locking lower part 8 also has an access element 21, which allows a suitable tool to access the unlocking element 18, relative to its strips 19. The housing part 12 is advantageously provided with an encoding surface 16.

As can be seen from 11, the housing part 12 in the mounted state overlaps the entire release element 18 and, at the same time, also an essential part of the latch 2.

In order to be able to actuate the unlocking element, the tool 15, here in the form of a key, must be brought in only through the access element 21 and then rotated in the inserted state. Due to this, the latch 2 can be removed from its locking position and can disconnect the plug connection.

Of course, the invention is described here by way of example only for the RJ-45 plug and the safety device in accordance with the invention is applicable to all types of plug connectors that have a latch or similar locking mechanism. So can be equipped with electrical, as well as optical or electro-optical single or multiple connectors safety device in accordance with the invention.

Claims (12)

1. A safety device for at least one latch (2) of the plug (1) of the plug connection, which has a lockable lock that prevents the manual actuation of at least one of the latches (2), characterized in that this lock (8, 12) includes the lower part of the lock (8) fixed on the plug (1), on which a separate upper part of the lock (12) is mounted. 2. The safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the lower part of the lock (8) is made in such a way that it can be latched onto the plug (1) by kinematic closure and / or with a power closure. 3. The safety device according to claim 2, characterized in that the upper part of the lock (12) is designed as a slider, which can be moved to the closed position and to the open position, and which slider on the latch side has at least one jamming element (14 ), which, when the slider is in the closed position, is at least under the latch (12). 4. A safety device according to claim 2, characterized in that the upper part of the constipation (12) is designed as a slider that can be moved to the closed position and to the open position and which has at least one covering element on the latch side, which in the closed position, the slider is located above at least one latch (2). 5. The safety device according to claim 4, characterized in that the slider can be blocked using at least one locking element (10, 11) installed on the lower part of the lock (8) with the lower part of the lock (8). 6. The safety device according to claim 4, characterized in that the slider can be blocked using at least one blocking element (10, 11) mounted on the slider with the lower part of the lock (8). 7. A safety device according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the locking element (10, 11) is made as a separate structural element. 8. A safety device according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the locking element (10, 11) is made as a spring tongue. 9. A safety device according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the slider can be released using a separate tool, in particular a key (15). 10. The safety device according to claim 1, characterized in that the slider is provided with a clip with latches (17), which, when the slider is moved from the closed position to the open position, presses the latch (2) down and this allows a simple separation of the plug connection. 11. The safety device according to claim 2, characterized in that the upper part of the lock (12) is made as part of the housing, which covers the release element (18), which can be actuated using a separate tool, in particular a key (15), such so that this release element (18), when actuated, presses down the latch (2) and this allows a simple separation of the plug connection. 12. A safety device according to one of claims 3, 4 or 11, characterized in that the upper part of the constipation (12) is equipped with interchangeable coding, in particular color coding (16).

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