This application claims priority from and incorporates by reference German patent application 10 2018 101 670.0, filed on Jan. 25, 2018.
The invention relates to a plug connector.
Plug connectors of this generic type, in particular for contacting a connection conductor at a circuit board using a plug-in contact, are well known in the art. Plug connectors are used for contacting a connection conductor at a circuit board using plug contacts. Direct plug connectors are plug connectors whose contacts directly contact conductor sections of circuit boards. The direct plug connectors are provided with plug-in contacts for specially shaped circuit boards, wherein contact fingers of the plug contacts can be connected with the circuit board directly. The circuit boards include cutouts for this purpose wherein inner circumferential surfaces of the cutouts are provided with an electrically conductive layer wherein the contact fingers of the plug contacts contact the electrically conductive layer.
Generic plug connectors are known which carry a primary safety to fix the plug connector at the circuit board. The primary safety is configured with at least one interlocking element that is arranged at the contact carrier and cooperates with free cuts in the circuit board. The interlocking elements include interlocking devices that reach under the circuit board.
The primary safety provides protection against unintentional disengagement of the plug connector from the circuit board, e.g., by tension forces that are applied by the connection conductors and thus assure safe and reliable contacting. Additionally, the primary safety fixes the plug connector also during vibrations on the circuit board. Thus, the primary safety also assures reliable long-term contacting.
Plug connectors are going through a miniaturization process. The requirements with respect to securing the plug connector at the circuit board thus remain at least constant.
Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide a plug connector that includes an optimized primary safety.
The object is achieved by a plug connector, in particular a direct plug connector, for contacting contact openings of a circuit board, the plug connector including a contact carrier which can include coding devices, in particular coding pins and a polarity reversal safety, in particular configured as polarity protrusions; conductor insertion channels formed by the contact carrier and configured to receive connection conductors, and contact recesses configured to receive plug contacts; a primary safety that supports the contact carrier at the circuit board and that is in particular configured as interlocking elements, characterized in that the primary safety includes at least two interlocking arms that are arranged in pairs adjacent to each other wherein interlocking devices of the interlocking arms have different interlocking geometries.
An essential advantage of the invention is that the primary safety includes two interlocking arms that are arranged in pairs adjacent to each other, and which are characterized by different interlocking geometries of the respective interlocking devices. Thus, the different interlocking geometries of the interlocking arms provide optimized protection for the primary safety at the circuit board under increased tension forces and vibration.
The primary safety is oriented parallel to the plug direction.
Furthermore, it is provided that the interlocking device of the first interlocking arm has an interlocking surface that reaches under the circuit board wherein the interlocking surface is oriented essentially orthogonal to the plug-in direction of the plug connector. Thus, the interlocking surface is oriented substantially parallel to the bottom side of the circuit board. Thus, the plug connector is secured against the tension force. The tension force of the first interlocking arm is up to 60 Newton.
It is furthermore provided that the interlocking device of the second interlocking arm has an interlocking surface that reaches under the circuit board at least partially, and which slopes downward starting from the interlocking arm in the plug-in direction. This interlocking arm provides tolerance compensation between the contact carrier of the plug connector and a circuit board. The downward sloping interlocking surface reaches under the circuit board in its entirety or at least partially as a function of a thickness of the circuit board and supports the plug connector at the circuit board in addition to the first interlocking surface.
In a particularly advantageous embodiment the downward sloping interlocking surface encloses an angle of 20° with a bottom side of the circuit board and thus facilitates a tolerance compensation of up to 10% of a nominal thickness of the circuit board.
It is furthermore provided that the contact carrier has two interlocking arms that are arranged opposite to each other and oriented in plug-in direction, and that the interlocking arms of different interlocking arm pairs with interlocking devices of identical geometry are arranged diagonally opposite to each other.
The diagonally opposite arrangement of the interlocking devices with identical configuration of the geometry prevents on the one hand side a tilting of the plug connector in the conductor plate, and on the other hand side provides a protection against increased tension force. Advantageously, the cooperation of the interlocking arm pairs facilitates a reduced contact loading.
Each interlocking arm may include a disengagement cam in order to move the interlocking device back into a disengagement position in order to separate the plug connector from the conductor plate.
Through the configuration of the disengagement cam an optimized disengagement of the contact carrier from the circuit board is facilitated. Thus, it is possible also in a very confined space to disengage the plug connector from the circuit board easily, e.g., by feeling the disengagement cams. Alternatively a tool can be used. Thus, optimized handling of the plug connector is assured in addition to securing the plug connector at the circuit board.
The disengagement cams of the interlocking arms, however, are an optional, non-mandatory feature of the interlocking arms.
The invention is now described based on advantageous embodiments with reference to drawing figures, wherein:
The drawing figures illustrate a plug connector according to the invention that is designated overall with the reference numeral 10.
The plug connector 10 includes the contact carrier 11 which forms a housing 13 for plug contacts 12. The housing 13 of the contact carrier 11 is provided with conductor insert channels 14 that are configured to receive non-illustrated connecting conductors. The connecting conductors are electrically connected by cutting edge clamping forks 48 with the plug contacts 12. The plug contacts 12 form the contact fingers 49 which reach below the contact opening 36 of a circuit board 19 as soon as the plug connector 10 is arranged at the circuit board 19 as illustrated, e.g., in
Furthermore, the housing 13 is configured with contact recesses 15 into which the plug contacts 12 are inserted. The housing 13 supports several coding pins 16 at its outer surface, wherein the coding pins protrude from the plug connector 10 in the plug in direction and associate the plug connector 10 at the circuit board 19 that has a corresponding encoding, in particular configured as coding boreholes 37.
The housing 13 includes interlocking hooks 21 at its front side 20 wherein plural plug connectors 10 can be arranged at each other by the interlocking hooks for assembly purposes. On the back side 22 of the contact carrier 11 the housing 13 forms contours 23 to receive interlocking hooks 21 by which additional plug connectors 10 are arrangeable at the contact carrier 11.
Furthermore, the contact carrier 11 is provided with a polarity safety 18. The polarity safety 18 shall prevent a potentially short circuit generating contacting of the plug contact 12 with the contact openings 36 of the circuit board 19. The polarity safety 18 is formed by three polarity protrusions 56 that originate from the bottom side of the contact carrier 11 as illustrated, e.g., in
The housing 13 of the contact carrier 11 is penetrated by a borehole 24 parallel to the plug in direction. This borehole 24 includes a first notch 25A and a second notch 25B. The second notch 25B is an optional and non-mandatory feature of the borehole 24.
The borehole 24 is configured to receive the secondary safety 26, in particular configured as a locking pin 27. The locking pin 27 includes a head portion 28 and a pin-shaped base portion 29.
The locking bar protrusions 33, which are illustrated in
The pin-shaped base element 29 of the locking pin 27 includes a slot 41 that is defined by a first side wall 40A and a second side wall 40B. The slot 41 facilitates a diameter reducing rearward displacement of the side walls 40A and 40B which support the locking bar protrusions 33.
The head portion 28 shows the rib 31. The rib 31 cooperates with the first notch 25A or the second notch 25B of the borehole 24 (c.f.,
The rib 31 and the head portion 28 of the locking pin 27 are illustrated in
The circuit board 19 includes a first slotted hole 35A and a second slotted hole 35B adjacent to the pass-through opening 39. The slotted holes 35A and 35B include sections which cooperate on the one hand side with a primary safety 17 and on the other hand the polarity protrusions 56 of the polarity safety 18. The slotted hole 35A cooperates on the one hand side with the primary safety 17 and with a polarity protrusion 56. The slotted hole 35B cooperates with the primary safety 17 and with two polarity protrusions 56 and is accordingly configured longer than the slotted hole 35A. An incorrect position of the plug connector 10 at the circuit board 19 is therefore impossible.
The primary safety 17 is illustrated, e.g., in
The interlocking arms 44, 45 include locking devices 50, 51 at their free ends wherein the locking devices include various interlocking surfaces 54 and 55.
The interlocking surface 55 helps to compensate tolerances between the contact carrier 11 and the circuit board 19. The interlocking arms 44 that are arranged at the circuit board are illustrated, e.g., in
In a particularly advantageous embodiment the downward sloping interlocking surface 55 encloses an angle of 20° with a bottom side 46 of the circuit board 19 and facilitates a tolerance compensation of up to 10% of a nominal thickness of the circuit board 19. Also the downward sloping interlocking surface 55 helps to anchor the plug connector 10 at the circuit board 19. A tension force that is compensable by the downward sloping interlocking surface 55, however, is small.
The interlocking arms 44, 45 precede the contact carrier 11 and are arranged parallel with each other. The plug connector 10 includes two interlocking arm pairs that are arranged at opposite sides of the plug connector 10. The interlocking devices 50 and 51 with identical interlocking geometry are arranged diagonally opposite to each other at the contact carrier 11.
Through the diagonally opposed interlocking devices 50 and 51 with identical configuration of their interlocking surfaces 54 and 55, a tilting of the plug connector 19 under tension is prevented and thus the contact spot loading between the plug contacts 12 and the contact holes 36 is rendered more uniform.
In
In
Alternatively the locking pin 27 can already be arranged in the locking position when placed on the circuit board 19. Then the locking protrusions 33 run onto the edge of the pass-through opening 39. The slot 41 that is vertically arranged in the locking pin 27 facilitates an elastic backward movement of the locking protrusions 33 of the locking pin 27 when the locking pin 27 is moved forward so that the locking protrusions 33 penetrate the pass-through opening 39 and reach under the circuit board 19.
In the locking position of the locking pin 27, the rib 31 of the head portion 28 of the locking pin 27 cooperates with the second notch 25B of the borehole 24. The locking position is identified by the word “Lock”. The groove 30A includes the word “Lock”. The plug connector 10 is safely mounted at the circuit board 19.
The safety hood 60 circumferentially envelopes the contact carrier 11 wherein the contact carrier 11 is movably arranged in the safety hood 60. The contact carrier 11 includes locking pins 61 that are oriented parallel to the plug-in direction wherein the locking pins 61 preceded the contact carrier 11 and position the contact carrier 11 in the safety hood 60 in preassembly condition.
Additionally the contact carrier 11 forms interlocking profiles 63 and interlocking grooves 66 which precede the contact carrier 11 in the plug-in direction and cooperate with interlocking bars 65 of the safety hood 60 according to the preassembled condition and assembled condition of the contact carrier 11 in the safety hood 60.
Furthermore, the contact carrier 11 includes interlocking lobes 62 which originate from the housing 13 at short sides of the contact carrier 11. The interlocking lobes 62 are configured reset elastic and cooperate with interlocking openings 64 that are formed by the safety hood 60 as illustrated in
Additionally the interlocking lobe 62 forms an interlocking lug 67 which cooperates with a corresponding interlocking recess 68 that is formed by the safety hood 60. As soon as the contact carrier 11 is moved into the mounting position the interlocking lug 67 cooperates with the interlocking recess 68 as illustrated in the sectional view in
Contrary to the first embodiment of the plug connector 10, the primary safety 17, the polarity safety 18 and the coding pins 16 of the safety hood 60 do not originate from the contact carrier 11. The primary safety 17 includes locking arm pairs 44 in this second embodiment of the plug connector 10 wherein the locking arm pairs are identical on both sides and configured together with the locking devices 51. The interlocking devices 51 include interlocking surfaces 55 which provide tolerance compensation between the contact carrier 11 and the circuit board 19.
However, it is also conceivable that the primary safety 17 is configured identical with the first embodiment of the plug connector 10 as illustrated, e.g., in
Also, the polarity safety 18 can be configured according to the first embodiment of the plug connector 10 as can be derived from an exemplary manner from
In order to attach the plug connector 10 at the circuit board 19, the contact fingers 49 of the plug contacts 12 have to be received in the contact openings 36 of the circuit board in order to provide electrical contacting.
The contact carrier 11 is positioned in the safety hood 60 by locking pins 61, wherein the locking grooves 66 of the contact carrier 11 cooperate in the preassembly position with the interlocking bars 65 of the safety hood 60. The plug contacts 12 are inserted in the contact recesses 15 of the contact carrier 11. Since the contact carrier 11 and accordingly also the plug contacts 12 are provided in the preassembly condition offset from the circuit board 19 an electrical contacting of the plug connector 10 with the circuit board 19 is excluded in the preassembly position of the plug connector 10.
In order to finish assembling the plug connector 10 the contact carrier 11 is moved in the plug-in direction and thus displaced into the assembly position. The interlocking bars 66 now engage the interlocking profiles 63 of the contact carrier 11 and arrange the contact carrier 11 in the safety hood 60. Additionally, the interlocking lobes 62 interlock at the interlocking openings 64 of the safety hood 60. Displacing the contact carrier 11 in the plug-in direction also displaces the plug contacts 12 in the plug-in direction in addition to the coding pins 16 which penetrate the coding boreholes 37 of the circuit board 19. Thus, the contact pins 49 of the plug contacts 12 cooperate with the contact openings 36 in the circuit board 19 and thus facilitate electrical contacting.
In
The contact carrier 11 is arranged in the safety hood 60 in the preassembly condition. The interlocking pins 61 of the contact carrier 11 are arranged in an upper portion A above the interlocking arms 44. Thus, a movement space that is required for a disengaging backward movement of the interlocking arms is provided. The interlocking arms 44 can be moved backward into the moving space by pressure on the disengagement cams 53 so that the safety hood 60 can be disengaged from the circuit board 19 easily.
When the contact carrier 11 is moved in the safety hood 60 into the assembly position as illustrated in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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DE102018101670.0 | Jan 2018 | DE | national |