Cable harness plug having a securing device for the cable harness

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6540547
  • Patent Number
    6,540,547
  • Date Filed
    Monday, July 23, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 1, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
A cable harness plug is described, including a housing part for accommodating the contact carriers and a cover, a securing device being provided for securing a cable harness leading to the contact elements on the cable harness plug, and the cable harness being arranged inside a cable protection device provided on the cable harness plug. The securing device includes a retaining strap which forms one piece with the cable protection device. This makes it possible to arrange a cable harness directly on the cable harness plug in a vibration-proof mount and to protect it from mechanical damage at the transition from the cable protection device to the cable harness plug.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a cable harness plug for establishing a disconnectable electric plug-and-socket connection with another plug part, including a housing part in which electric contact elements are arranged, and a cover to protect the contact elements, as well as a securing device for securing a cable harness leading to the contact elements on the cable harness plug, the cable harness being arranged inside a cable protection device provided on the cable harness plug.




BACKGROUND INFORMATION




Disconnectable plug-and-socket connections are known in a variety of versions. As a rule, they include a first plug part, e.g., a cable harness plug, and another plug part, e.g., a male connector. The cable harness plug itself includes a contact carrier in the form of a housing part in which the electric contact elements are arranged and a cover to protect the contact elements from dirt, water or the like or unintentional contact. The cover can be latched on the contact carrier. To prevent unintentional opening of the cover and thus detachment from the contact carrier, the cover can be secured by using a securing device, e.g., by a retaining strap.




Furthermore, there are known cable protection devices which are used to guide the cable harness to the contact elements and to protect the cable harness from mechanical stresses in the transitional area from support sleeves, sheathing or the like to the plug part. They are usually composed of two interlocking half-shells with the cable harness inside. The half-shells are usually connected in one piece to the plug part.




One disadvantage of the type mentioned above of cable harness plugs is that it does not permit a vibration-proof arrangement of the cable harness directly on the cable harness plug to protect it from mechanical damage at the transition from the cable protection device to the cable harness plug.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




Therefore, an object of the present invention is to design a cable harness plug of the type mentioned above such that the disadvantages of the related art are avoided.




This object is achieved by the fact that the securing device is composed of a retaining strap which forms one piece with the cable protection device.




One important advantage of the present invention is that a cable harness plug has been created that provides all the elements for assembly of a cable harness on the contact carrier in a simple manner. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to keep an inventory of securing devices.




The cable protection device is preferably made of a grooved tube formed from two half-shells, a first half-shell being arranged on the cover and the other half-shell being arranged on the housing part of the cable harness plug. Therefore, there is a direct connection between the housing part of the cable harness plug and the cable protection device, so that this transition is protected from mechanical damage.




Furthermore, the securing device is designed in the form of a retaining strap which is arranged on the inside of the first half-shell and can be guided and secured through a side opening in the cable protection device around the cable harness and through the opening. The latching device for the retaining strap is preferably arranged on the outside of the cover.




As an alternative, the retaining strap can be arranged on the other half-shell with the same function.




An alternative securing device is designed such that the retaining strap is arranged on the outside of the first half-shell, can be guided around the other half-shell and can also be secured on the first half-shell.




As an alternative, the retaining strap may also be arranged on the other half-shell with the same function.




In the two embodiments mentioned last, the retaining strap in its first function is used to secure the two half-shells relative to one another and to prevent any inadvertent opening of the two half-shells due to vibration.




The other function of the retaining strap is to secure the cable harness in the cable protection device. Therefore, a holding device for the cable harness is provided inside the cable protection device and is designed so that the cable harness is secured by joining the two half-shells in the area of the holding device. The two half-shells preferably have two opposing curvatures arranged with a distance between them. When the half-shells are closed, this causes the cable harness to be secured in a fixed position. To increase this friction-locking effect, the securing device in the form of the retaining strap provided on one of the two half-shells is also preferably accommodated in this area.




A preferred variant of the embodiment mentioned last has in the first half-shell a recess into which the retaining strap provided on the other half-shell engages, so that a shorter retaining strap can be used.




To guarantee that the cable harness will be adequately secured, experiments have shown that the width of the holding device corresponds to the inside distance between the two legs of the first half-shell.




Furthermore, depending on the gauge of the cable harness, additional latching arrangements may also be provided in the embodiments mentioned above for securing the first half-shell on the other half-shell.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

shows a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the cable harness plug according to the present invention immediately before joining the cover and the contact carrier.





FIG. 2

shows a section through the cable harness plug according to

FIG. 1

along line II—II.





FIG. 3

shows a schematic diagram giving a sectional view of the cable protection device together with the securing device connected to the cable protection device in one piece.





FIG. 4

shows a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the cable harness plug according to the present invention immediately before joining the cover and the contact carrier.





FIG. 5

shows a top view of the cable harness plug according to FIG.


4


.





FIG. 6

shows a schematic diagram of the cable protection device together with the securing device connected to the cable protection device in one piece.





FIG. 7

shows a schematic diagram of a third embodiment of the cable harness plug according to the present invention immediately before joining the cover and the contact carrier.





FIG. 8

shows a top view of the cable harness plug according to FIG.


7


.





FIG. 9

shows a schematic diagram of a fourth embodiment of the cable harness plug according to the present invention immediately before joining the cover and the contact carrier.





FIG. 10

shows a top view of the cable harness plug according to FIG.


9


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




First exemplary embodiment (

FIGS. 1-3

)





FIGS. 1 through 3

show the first embodiment of cable harness plug


1


according to the present invention. It includes a housing part


2


, corresponding to the contact carrier of a plug part, and a cover


3


to protect the contact carriers.




Furthermore, a securing device


4


is provided for securing a cable harness


5


, leading to the contact carriers, on the cable harness plug


1


, cable harness


5


being arranged inside a cable protection device


6


provided on cable harness plug


1


.




Cable protection device


6


is composed of two half-shells


6




a


,


6




b


, first half-shell


6




a


being connected in one piece to cover


3


and other half-shell


6




b


to housing part


2


.




Securing device


4


includes a retaining strap


7


which is arranged on inside


8


of first half-shell


6




a


, as shown in FIG.


3


. Before assembly, retaining strap


7


preferably extends out of an opening


9


and has latching elements


10


on its free end.




For assembly and thus for securing cable harness


5


on cable harness plug


1


, retaining strap


7


is looped around cable harness


5


inside the cable protection device, latching with its free end in a latching device


11


. Cable protection device


6


may already be closed here.




Furthermore, another latching arrangement


12


provided on first half-shell


6




a


works together with corresponding latching arrangement


13


on other half-shell


6




b


, as shown in FIG.


1


.




Thus, it can be seen that cable harness


5


is also secured when cable harness plug


1


is assembled.




Second exemplary embodiment (

FIGS. 4-6

)





FIGS. 4 through 6

show the second embodiment of cable harness plug


20


according to the present invention. It includes a housing part


22


, corresponding to the contact carrier of a plug part, and a cover


23


to protect the contact carriers.




Furthermore, a securing device


24


is provided for securing a cable harness


25


leading to the contact carriers on cable harness plug


20


, cable harness


25


being arranged inside a cable protection device


26


provided on cable harness plug


20


.




Cable protection device


26


is composed of two half-shells


26




a


,


26




b


, first half-shell


26




a


being connected in one piece to cover


23


and other half-shell


26




b


to housing part


22


.




Securing device


24


includes a retaining strap


27


which is provided directly on other half-shell


26




b


, as shown in FIG.


6


. Before assembly, retaining strap


27


preferably extends perpendicularly away from the guide for cable harness


25


and has latching elements


30


on its free end.




For assembly and thus for securing cable harness


25


on cable harness plug


20


, retaining strap


27


is looped around cable harness


25


inside cable protection device


26


, latching with its free end in a latching device


31


.




Furthermore, another latching arrangement


32


provided on first half-shell


26




a


works together with a corresponding latching arrangement


33


on other half-shell


26




b


, as shown in FIG.


4


.




Thus, it can be seen that cable harness


25


is also secured when cable harness plug


1


is assembled.




In addition, a holding device


34


which is used for additional securing of cable harness


25


is provided in the retaining area of retaining strap


27


. For this purpose, two elevations are provided in first half-shell


26




a


in the embodiment shown here, which work together with elevations arranged in parallel in other half-shell


26




b


such that cable harness


25


arranged between them is at least presecured when cover


23


is closed.




Third exemplary embodiment (

FIGS. 7-8

)





FIGS. 7 and 8

show the third embodiment of cable harness plug


40


according to the present invention. It includes a housing part


42


, corresponding to the contact carrier of a plug part, and a cover


43


to protect the contact carriers.




Furthermore, a securing device


44


is provided for securing a cable harness


45


leading to the contact carriers on cable harness plug


40


, cable harness


45


being arranged inside a cable protection device


46


provided on cable harness plug


40


.




Cable protection device


46


is composed of two half-shells


46




a


,


46




b


, first half-shell


46




a


being connected in one piece to cover


43


and other half-shell


46




b


to housing part


42


.




Securing device


44


includes a retaining strap


47


which is provided directly on other half-shell


46




b


, as shown in

FIG. 7

, for example.




In addition, a holding device


54


which is used for additional securing of cable harness


45


is provided in the retaining area of retaining strap


47


. For this purpose, two elevations are provided in first half-shell


46




a


in the embodiment shown here, which work together with elevations arranged in parallel in other half-shell


46




b


such that cable harness


45


arranged between them is at least presecured when cover


43


is closed.




Furthermore, a recess


55


provided on first cover


43


in the area of the arrangement of retaining strap


47


is designed with dimensions such that it can accommodate retaining strap


47


.




For assembly and thus for securing cable harness


45


on cable harness plug


40


, cover


43


is first placed on housing part


42


. A retaining strap


47


which is provided as the securing device is looped around two half-shells


46




a


and


46




b


and secures cable harness


45


on cable protection device


46


due to holding device


54


.




Furthermore, another latching arrangement


52


provided on first half-shell


46




a


work together with corresponding a latching arrangement


53


on other half-shell


46




b


, as shown in FIG.


7


.




Thus, it can be seen that cable harness


45


is also secured when cable harness plug


40


is assembled.




Fourth exemplary embodiment (

FIGS. 9-10

)





FIGS. 9 and 10

show the fourth embodiment of cable harness plug


60


according to the present invention. This is the simplest form of the present invention. It includes a housing part


62


, corresponding to the contact carrier of a plug part, and a cover


63


to protect the contact carriers.




Furthermore, a securing device


64


is provided for securing a cable harness


65


leading to the contact carriers on cable harness plug


60


, cable harness


65


being arranged inside a cable protection device


66


provided on cable harness plug


60


.




Cable protection device


46


is composed of two half-shells


66




a


,


66




b


, first half-shell


66




a


being connected in one piece to cover


63


and other half-shell


66




b


to housing part


62


.




Securing device


64


includes a retaining strap


67


which is provided directly on other half-shell


66




b


, as shown in

FIG. 9

, for example.




In addition, two elevations


74


are provided in first half-shell


46




a


in the embodiment shown here, which work together with elevations


74


arranged in parallel in other half-shell


46




b


such that cable harness


65


arranged between them is at least presecured when cover


63


is closed.




For assembly and thus for securing cable harness


65


on cable harness plug


60


, cover


63


is first placed on housing part


62


. A retaining strap


67


which is provided as the securing device is looped around two half-shells


66




a


and


66




b


and secures cable harness


65


on cable protection device


66


due to holding device


74


.




Furthermore, another latching arrangement


72


provided on first half-shell


66




a


works together with a corresponding latching arrangement


73


on other half-shell


66




b


, as shown in FIG.


8


.




Thus, it can be seen that cable harness


65


is also secured when cable harness plug


60


is assembled.



Claims
  • 1. A cable harness plug for establishing a disconnectable electric plug-and-socket connection with another plug part, comprising:a plurality of electric contact elements; a housing part in which the electric contact elements are arranged; a cover for protecting the electric contact elements; and a securing device for securing a cable harness, leading to the electric contact elements, on the cable harness plug, the cable harness being arranged inside a cable protection device provided on the cable harness plug, wherein: the securing device includes a retaining strap that forms one piece with the cable protection device and the cable protection device includes two half-shells, a first of the two half-shells being connectable in one piece to the cover and a second of the two half-shells being connectable to the housing part.
  • 2. The cable harness plug according to claim 1, wherein the retaining strap is arranged on an inside of the first half-shell and is configured to be guided and secured through a side opening in the cable protection device around the cable harness and through the opening.
  • 3. The cable harness plug according to claim 1, wherein the retaining strap is arranged on the other half-shell, is configured to be guided around the cable harness, and is configured to be secured on the other half-shell.
  • 4. The cable harness plug according to claim 1, wherein the retaining strap is arranged on an outside of the first half-shell, is configured to be guided around the other half-shell, and is configured to be secured on the first half-shell.
  • 5. The cable harness plug according to claim 1, wherein the retaining strap is arranged on an outside of the other half-shell, is configured to be guided around the first half-shell, and is configured to be secured on the other half-shell.
  • 6. The cable harness plug according to claim 1, further comprising:a holding device for the cable harness, the holding device being arranged inside the cable protection device and configured to secure the cable harness by joining the first half-shell and the other half-shell in an area of the holding device.
  • 7. The cable harness plug according to claim 1, further comprising:an additional latching arrangement to secure the first half-shell on the other half-shell.
  • 8. A cable harness plug for establishing a disconnectable electric plug-and-socket connection with another plug part, comprising:a plurality of electric contact elements; a housing part in which the electric contact elements are arranged; a cover for protecting the electric contact elements; and a securing device for securing a cable harness, leading to the electric contact elements, on the cable harness plug, the cable harness being arranged inside a cable protection device provided on the cable harness plug, wherein: the securing device includes a retaining strap that forms one piece with the cable protection device, and the cable protection device is made of a grooved tube formed from a first half-shell arranged on the cover and another half-shell arranged on the housing part.
  • 9. The cable harness plug according to claim 8, wherein:the retaining strap is arranged on an inside of the first half-shell and can be guided and secured through a side opening in the cable protection device around the cable harness and through the opening.
  • 10. The cable harness plug according to claim 8, wherein:the retaining strap is arranged on the other half-shell, can be guided around the cable harness, and can also be secured on the other half-shell.
  • 11. The cable harness plug according to claim 8, wherein:the retaining strap is arranged on an outside of the first half-shell, can be guided around the other half-shell, and can also be secured on the first half-shell.
  • 12. The cable harness plug according to claim 8, wherein:the retaining strap is arranged on an outside of the other half-shell, can be guided around the first half-shell, and can also be secured on the other half-shell.
  • 13. The cable harness plug according to claim 8, further comprising:an additional latching arrangement for securing the first half-shell on the other half-shell.
  • 14. The cable harness plug according to claim 8, further comprising:a holding device for the cable harness, the holding device being arranged inside the cable protection device and for securing the cable harness by joining the first half-shell and the other half-shell in an area of the holding device.
  • 15. The cable harness plug according to claim 14, wherein:the first half-shell is a U-shaped first half shell, the other half-shell is a U-shaped other half-shell, and a width of the holding device corresponds to an inside distance between the U-shaped first half-shell and the U-shaped other half-shell.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
200 13 282 U Aug 2000 DE
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
3794960 Sugar Feb 1974 A
3936129 Guy Feb 1976 A
4165145 Steinbach Aug 1979 A