The disclosure relates generally to a contact carrier for receiving and securing at least one plug contact, at which a line or cable can be connected in an electrically conducting manner, having at least one locking apparatus for fixing the contact carrier within a plug-in connector housing. Furthermore, the disclosure relates generally to a method for assembling a contact carrier in a plug-in connector housing, and to a plug-in connection with a plug-in connector housing and a contact carrier which is received and fixed therein.
Contacts generally have at least one electrically conductive contact portion for releasable, temporary or plug-in connection to a corresponding counter-contact element, and a shank portion which adjoins the contact portion for fixing an electric line to the contact. A contact, plug contact or high power contact of this type can be used on a charging plug or a charging socket, for example in order to charge an electrically driven vehicle. In this case, a cable is connected firstly to a charging station and secondly carries a plug-in connector part in the form of a charging plug which can be plugged into an associated corresponding plug-in connector part in the form of a charging socket on a vehicle, in order in this way to establish an electric connection between the charging station and the vehicle. Other possible uses of high power contacts result in a multiplicity of further high power applications such as, for example, for operating a high power domestic appliance or for the energy supply of a welding unit, compressor, flow heater, etc.
Supply and charging currents can fundamentally be transmitted as DC currents or as AC currents, charging currents and high power ranges in the form of DC current having, in particular, a high current strength, for example greater than 200 A or even greater than 300 A or even 350 A, and can lead to heating of the cable and also of a high power contact which is connected to the cable.
In the case of charging operations of electric energy stores, rechargeable batteries and power supply in the high power range, heat arises as a consequence of the high electric power or electric currents transmitted, both at the cables and at the high power contacts. High power contacts and high power cables of this type which are manufactured from an electrically conductive material, for example from a copper material, heat up when the electric energy flows via the contacts, plug contacts or high power contacts; the contacts are fundamentally to be dimensioned depending on the charging current to be transmitted in such a way that the contacts have a sufficient current carrying capacity and heating at the contact elements is limited. It is the case here that a contact and the respective current carrying cable are to be dimensioned to be greater, the greater the charging current to be transmitted.
Scaling of the contact element size with an increasing charging current is subject to limits, however, on account of the associated installation space requirement, the weight and the costs. There is therefore a requirement for electric power generally and, in particular, power transmissions with great charging currents to be transmitted by way of contacts of comparatively small dimensions.
In addition to the striving for elements of small dimensions for the transmission of electric energy, the cross sections of the lines which are connected to the contact elements also have a considerable influence on the design of contacts, contact plugs and plug-in connections. In the case of high power contacts, it may be the case that the connection of the lines, feed line and the contacts or contact elements are produced by way of welding. This connecting method ensures an intimate integrally joined connection and is suitable to transmit even high power currents with a reduced resistance. This connecting method has proven to be reliable even in the case of relatively high mechanical loads.
Above all and in the case of the greater line cross section which is present in the higher power range, the considerable flexural and deformation rigidity is disadvantageous, which rigidity makes the assembly of the plug-in connection elements such as the plug-in connector housing and the plug-in modules difficult. It is likewise problematic for the assembly properties that the welding of the contact and the line has to take place before the assembly of the plug-in connection.
WO 2016/135230 A1 discloses a high voltage cable set, configured as a plug-in connection with a contact carrier in the form of a connection piece and a shield which are received in a contact collar.
DE 10 2016 105 504 A1 describes an electric plug-in connector which is optimized in terms of assembly and has a plug with a plug housing manufactured from plastic, in which at least one contact chamber is formed. The electric plug-in connector has at least one electric contact part for arranging the at least one contact chamber, the contact part having a locking pin for releasable fastening of a plug-in contact on the contact part. The contact part has a high current carrying capacity of up to 180 A at 85° C. In this context, “high voltage” can be understood to mean an electric voltage which is at least approximately 48 V, but preferably 60 V or more, further preferably 400 V up to approximately from 650 V to 1000 V.
It is a desire of the disclosure to develop the construction of an at least single-pole plug-in connector plug, with the result that the assembly is improved with regard to complexity and/or positioning accuracy of the plug-in connector elements, and the disadvantages of known solutions at least partially decreased.
In order to achieve the above, the disclosure proposes a contact carrier which both secures and receives at least one plug contact, plug-in contact, plug contact pin, contact part, or contact with a line or power cable fixed thereon, and can also be fixed in a plug-in connector housing or plug housing.
The disclosure identifies that the assembly can take place in a particularly simple and reliable way by virtue of the fact that first of all a structural unit is formed, consisting of the at least one plug contact, plug-in contact, plug contact pin, contact part, or contact with the line or power cable fixed in each case thereon, and the contact carrier. Subsequently, this structural unit is introduced into the plug-in connector housing or plug housing and is fixed within the housing in a correct position via the provided locking apparatus. The locking apparatus is formed, for example, by way of one or more tongue and groove means, engagement means and/or snap-in hooks which assist a completely tool-less assembly, and increases the locking reliability by way of a design which is supported at least at two points.
By virtue of the fact that, according to the disclosure, the assembly movement is provided counter to the plug-in connection movement, the simplicity and reliability of the assembly are again increased. In practice, this means that the contact carrier with the at least one plug contact and the line optionally fastened thereto is, as it were, withdrawn and pulled into the plug housing up to fixing by way of the locking apparatus.
The assembly movement of the structural unit formed from the at least one plug contact, plug-in contact, plug contact pin, contact part, or contact with the line or power cable fixed in each case thereon, and the contact carrier counter to the plug-in connection movement can be limited in the axial direction of the plug-in connection. This takes place by way of a mechanical stop within the plug housing, which mechanical stop interacts in its position with the locking apparatus, with the result that the assembly movement is limited in such a way that the locking position is reached and assumed in a reliable and defined manner.
The correct and absolutely reliable fixing of the contact carrier with the plug contact or contacts within the plug housing relates to a further, highly important safety aspect. The disclosure realizes this aspect by way of an optical locking check. It is provided according to the disclosure for an optical accessibility of the locking apparatus to be provided, with the result that a visual check can be carried out as to whether the fixing of the contact carrier to the plug contact or contacts within the plug housing is ensured by way of the locking action.
The disclosure will be explained in greater detail in the following text on the basis of one exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the figures, in which:
The plug-in connector housing or plug housing 110 can be formed from different materials with the respective specific material properties such as, for example, strength, deformation capability, insulation effect with respect to electric currents. One possible material can be a cast material. If a metallic basic material with the current-conducting properties is used, the contact carrier 1 is produced from an electric non-conducting material, for example plastic. The plug-in connector housing or plug housing 110 can be produced using the high pressure die casting or injection molding method. Particularly suitable materials in this context are aluminum, plastic, zinc-based material, magnesium and iron-based material compositions.
The at least one plug contact or plug-in contact 20 with the fastened line 30 (not shown) is secured by the contact carrier 1 in the interior of the plug-in connector housing 110, and is enclosed by a contact sleeve 21 which can optionally but not necessarily be designed with one or more crenellations 22. In order to protect a user against electric shocks, a touch guard cap 23 can be provided on the end side of the plug contact 20.
It is possible for the contact carrier 1 to be configured in one part or in any desired number of parts; a two-part concept is shown here. The contact carrier 1 in
The locking apparatus 10 is provided on the outer side of the first contact carrier element 1.1 and is in each case in a flush position with respect to the visual, optical access 2 when the contact carrier elements 1.1, 1.2 are combined. One of several suitable arrangements is the one selected here; a locking apparatus 10 is located in the adjoining region of two plug-in contact receiving chambers with respect to one another.
On the inner side, the plug-in connector housing 110 can have a guide 112 for the contact carrier 1, which guide 112 guides the contact carrier 1 during the axial movement into the locking position. The axial movement, that is to say the contact carrier assembly movement direction KMB, is directed counter to the contacting movement direction or the plug-in connector plug-in movement direction SSB. As a result of the assembly movement KMB of the contact carrier 1 which is directed counter to the plug-in connector plug-in movement direction SSB, it is possible for the assembly of the contact carrier 1 in the plug-in connector housing 110 to be brought about in a particularly secure, simple and tool-less way.
The exemplary embodiment shown of the plug-in connector housing 110 with its guide 112 and the two recesses 111, lying opposite one another diametrically at a spacing, for the snap-in hooks 11 of the locking apparatuses 10 results in a three-point support with particularly stable and reliable securing of the contact carrier 1 in the plug-in connector housing 110.
In this exemplary embodiment, the first contact carrier element 1.1 is equipped with two locking apparatuses 10 in the form of snap-in hooks 11. The locking apparatuses 10 are arranged in each case in the region between the plug contacts 20 or flush with respect to the regions between the contact sleeves 21 of the second contact carrier element 1.2, and are spaced apart from one another. In this way, the three-point support which is highly advantageous for the stability of the securing of the contact carrier element 1.1 in the plug-in connector housing 110 can be achieved by way of a construction of the locking apparatuses 10 which is both diametrical and spaced apart for guidance purposes.
The locking apparatus 10 is constructed for the simple, tool-less assembly of the contact carrier 1 in the plug-in connector housing 110 by way of its assembly movement direction KMB counter to the plug-in connector plug-in movement direction SSB. A snap-in hook 11 is provided which is arranged on the end side of a snap-in hook arm 12. The snap-in hook contour is adapted geometrically to the corresponding recess 111 in the plug-in connector housing 110, with the result that the snap-in action is maximized reliably and the securing force against axial forces in the plug-in connector plug-in movement direction SSB acting on the contact carrier 1 is maximized. The snap-in hook arm 12 is approximately twice as long as the longitudinal extent region of the snap-in hook 11, and is coupled via a bracket 12′ to the first contact carrier element 1.1. This bracket coupling is considerably advantageous for the function of the locking apparatus 10:
As a result of the locking apparatus 10 according to the disclosure, it is possible for the assembly and locking of the contact carrier 1 to be performed in the contact carrier assembly movement direction KMB counter to the plug-in connector plug-in movement direction SSB. Furthermore, the assembly operation can take place without tools, that is to say in a tool-less manner. Here, the assembly is realized by way of force-displacement loading of the contact carrier 1 in the direction KMB into the plug-in connector housing 110.
In order for it to be possible for the particularly function-relevant check of the correct and reliable securing of the contact carrier 1 in the plug-in connector housing 110 to be brought about, at least one visual, optical access 2 is configured, via which the correct snap-in action and the proper seating of the snap-in hook 11 within the recess 111 can be checked optically.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102020125345.1 | Sep 2020 | DE | national |
This application is a National Stage application of PCT/EP2021/075922, filed Sep. 21, 2021, which claims priority to German Patent Application Serial No. 102020125345.1, filed Sep. 29, 2020, both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2021/075922 | 9/21/2021 | WO |