Patent Application
20100255692
This patent application claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2007 052 210.1, filed Jul. 30, 2007 which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to electrical connection system.
The invention relates to an electrical connection system comprising a housing into which electrical and/or mechanical components can be integrated, at least one circuit board which can be positioned on the housing and comprises at least one circuit board connector for electrical contacting, and at least one contact element for the electrical contacting of the circuit board connector, said contact element being held firmly on the housing.
Electrical connection systems of the type mentioned above are known in the prior art in various designs.
DE 39 28 751 C2, for example, describes an electrical connection system in the form of an electrical connection box for the wiring of motor vehicles. The connection box comprises a top and a bottom housing part which can be assembled to form an integral housing. A circuit board comprising several conductor webs, each of which comprise circuit board connectors for electrical contacting in the form of web strips disposed perpendicularly to the circuit board, is accommodated in the housing. Contact elements are provided for the electrical contacting of these circuit board connectors. Said contact elements each comprise a base part, at least one contact portion formed on the base part, and a clamping portion which is formed integrally with the base part and is in frictional engagement with a contact element. Each clamping portion comprises two protruding legs, the free ends of which are formed into clamping projections, so that a web strip of a conductor web can be accommodated between these two legs in a resilient manner by friction fit. One drawback of this electrical connection system lies in the fact that the contact elements always grip around the circuit board connectors from above, which is why the contact elements and the circuit board must be arranged one above the other. Accordingly, the freedom in designing the electrical connection system is limited to a large extent.
The disclosure provides an electrical connection system of the type mentioned in the introduction which ensures a secure and rugged electrical contacting while enabling comfortable handling, and in which the contact elements and the circuit board can optionally also be arranged next to each other.
According to the invention, this is achieved by the contact element being formed in a flexible manner, so that the contacting portion can be moved from an assembly position, in which it is not in electrical contact with the circuit board connector, into a contacting position, in which it is in electrical contact with the circuit board connector. Because of the flexible design of its contacting end, the contact element, following the arrangement of the circuit board on the housing, only needs to be transferred from the assembly position into the contacting position in order to electrically connect the contact element with the circuit board. Thus, electrical contacting can be carried out simply and comfortably. In addition, in contrast to the prior art, the contact element and the circuit board connector inside the housing need not be disposed one above the other due to the configuration according to the invention, but can also be positioned next to each other, whereby a large degree of freedom is designing the electrical connection system is achieved.
The housing is preferably produced from plastic or insulated in light metal, in particular as an injection-molded article, in order to reduce its own weight.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the at least one contact element is embedded into the housing, and in particular into the bottom of the housing. Such an embedding eliminates one assembly step when the electrical connection system is put together.
For positioning the circuit board on the housing, the housing preferably has an opening into which the circuit board can at least partially be inserted from the outside, in particular pushed in. The position of the opening can be selected freely in the design of the electrical connection system according to the invention. Thus, it can, for example, be formed in the bottom of the housing.
Preferably, the circuit board connector has a recess open towards an end face of the circuit board, into which the contacting portion of the contact element engages in its contacting position. In that case, the contact element is bent from its assembly position into the contacting position in such a way that it is introduced into the recess of the circuit board connector. In order to realize the recess open towards the end face of the circuit board, the circuit board connector is preferably configured U-shaped.
In this embodiment, the contacting portion of the contact element is expediently configured H- or C-shaped, with the connecting web being insertable into the frontally open recess of the circuit board connector. In this case, the dimensions of the connecting web correspond to the dimensions of the recesses preferably such that a secure and rugged electrical contacting is ensured.
Expediently, the contact elements are in this case configured such that their parallel retaining webs come to rest on the main surfaces, i.e. the top and the bottom sides, of the circuit board when the connecting web is inserted into the recess of the circuit board connector and is held therein, in particular by friction fit. A detachable electrical contacting can be produced in this way, so that the circuit board can be removed and repaired or replaced with a new circuit board.
Alternatively or additionally, the free contacting end of the contact element can also be soldered, in the contacting position, to the circuit board connector or glued to it using an electrically conductive adhesive.
With regard to other advantageous embodiments of the invention, reference is made to the dependent claims as well as to the following description of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the attached drawing. In the drawings:
An electrical connection system according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawing.
The electrical connection system 10 comprises a housing 12 with a housing wall 14, which substantially has the shape of a hollow cylinder, and a housing bottom 16 formed in one piece with the housing wall 14. Contact elements 18, 20 bearing contacting portions 22 and 24 protrude into the interior 26 of the housing. The contacting portions 22 and 24 are substantially configured in a H-shape. They each comprise two retaining webs 25a and 25b, which extend parallel relative to each other, and a connecting web 25c which extends transversally relative thereto.
An opening 28 is formed in the bottom 16 of the housing into which a circuit board 30 of the connection system 10 is pushed in such a way that the circuit board 30 is retained in a positive fit and protrudes slightly into the interior 26 of the housing, as can be seen, in particular, in
If an electrical connection between the contact elements 18, 20 and the circuit board 30 is to be established, the contact elements 18, 20 are bent towards the end face 31 of the circuit board in such a way that the connecting webs 25c of its contacting portions 22 and 24 engage into the recesses 38 of the circuit board connectors 34 and 36 provided on the end face 31 of the circuit board, so that an electrical contacting is effected. In the process, the retaining webs 25a and 25b are placed against the main surface of the circuit board 30, preferably creating a friction fit, whereby the contacting portions 22 and 24 are fixed on the circuit board 30. A detachable connection is produced in this manner, which is advantageous in that the circuit board 30 can be removed at all times for repair purposes or in order to be replaced. Of course, the contacting portions 22 and 24 can also be soldered to the circuit board connectors 34 and 36, or glued to them using a conductive adhesive.
If the circuit board 30 is now pushed into the opening, the ends of the contacts 22, 24 can be bent so that the circuit board 30 is electrically contacted. No limitation to the number of contacts is required in this case, rather, any number of contacts can be achieved. For this purpose, the circuit board 30 comprises connectors 34, 36 for electrical contacting with the ends of the contacts 22, 24.
Due to the structure of the contacting with the circuit board 30 according to the invention, it is now possible to contact the circuit board electrically securely with the contacts 22, 24, to secure the circuit board 30 in the housing 12, and furthermore, to ensure a secure electrical contacting. It is a substantial advantage of the invention that the circuit board 30 can be mounted in the direction of the cylindrical configuration of the housing 12, that is, the circuit board does not have to be aligned in a plane or parallel way relative to a lower end 16 of the housing 12, as in the conventional electrical assemblies, such as switches, operating elements, sensors or control devices, but can be mounted offset by 90° relative to the bottom 16 of the housing 12 in the direction of the cylindrical configuration of the housing 12.
Compensating loops 21, 23, which are incorporated into the contact elements 18, 20 in a meandering shape in front of the contacting portions 22, 24, are incorporated into the contact elements 18, 20, as is shown particularly clearly in
The contacting portions 22, 24, which can be described as being H-shaped, enclose the circuit board 30 with the webs 25a and 25b, and thus provide an additional stabilization of the contact area. Thus, the retaining webs 25a, 25b serve for stabilization and retention of the contacting portions 22, 24 on the contact area 34, 36. Moreover, the retaining webs 25a, 25b serve for stabilizing the position of the circuit board 30 in the connection system 10.
As is shown in
In this case, it naturally is a matter of course that, if the contacting portions are to engage into the recesses 38 in a C-shape, only those areas are coated or configured to be electrically conductive in which the retaining webs 25a, 25b rest on the outer surface 32, 33 of the circuit board. It is also conceivable that only one of the sides 32, 33 of the circuit board 30 is configured or coated so as to be electrically conductive. Laminating the circuit board connectors 34, 36 beyond the area of the recesses 38 offers the advantage that a greater mechanical stress on the soldering area of the circuit board connectors 34, 36 is possible in the case of, for example, a soldered contacting between contact elements 18, 20 and the circuit board 30. Moreover, a secure contacting is also ensured, regardless of whether the electrical contact between the contact element 18, 20 and the circuit board 0 is realized by soldering, gluing or only by force fit or frictional fit. In this case, it must also be taken into account that temperature changes in the order of up to 200° C. must be ensured.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2007 052 210.1 | Oct 2007 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP08/09168 | 10/30/2008 | WO | 00 | 4/29/2010 |
