Patent Application
20240162646
The disclosure relates to a plug-connector plug for a plug connector with increased vibratory strength, having a plug-connector plug housing with at least one contact element incorporated in a receptacle space of the plug-connector plug housing. The disclosure furthermore relates to a plug connector with a plug-connector plug.
The plug-connector technology is used in practically all environments in terms of requirements and applications, for example in automotive engineering, stationary technology, in the environment of aggressive media, high temperature fluctuations or else moist conditions. The electrical outputs to be transmitted may lie in the range from low-voltage applications up to high-voltage applications.
Generic plug connectors in terms of their contacting task of implementing an electrically conducting connection are embodied in such a manner that the plugs thereof are constructed so as to be compatible with a complementary mating plug. The mutual plugging of the plug and the mating plug is facilitated, whereby the mating plug often has a mating-plug housing made of plastics material and the plug-in contact attached thereto for fastening to the contact part of the plug.
Further requirements may be added to the actual functional tasks of plug connectors. Significant in this context is the ability of the plug connection and of the electrical contacting of the contacts to always reliably establish contact without limitations even under various environmental influences acting on the plug connection, such as, for example, temperature fluctuations, vibrations, mechanical stresses, etc. On top of this, there may also be requirements in terms of sealing, moisture-resistant encasing, depending on the location where the plug connection is to be used.
In general, contacts have at least one electrically conductive contact portion for the releasable, temporary or plug-in connection to a corresponding mating contact element, and a shank portion for fastening an electric line to the contact, said shank portion adjoining the contact portion.
Such a contact, plug-in contact, high-current contact can be used on a charging plug or a charging socket, for example for charging an electrically driven vehicle. In this case, a cable is connected to a charging station, on the one hand, and on the other hand supports a plug-connector part in the form of a charging plug which can be plugged into an assigned mating-plug connector part in the form of a charging socket on a vehicle, so as to in this way establish an electric connection between the charging station and the vehicle.
In principle, charging currents can be transmitted as direct currents or as alternating currents, whereby in particular charging currents and high-current ranges in the form of direct current have a high amperage, for example more than 200 A, or even more than 300 A or even 350 A, and may lead to the cable as well as a high-current contact connected to the cable being heated.
Vibrations and other, in particularly dynamically changing, mechanical stress situations are particularly often the cause of component failure of the contact-relevant components in plug connection, with the consequence that the electric contact is interrupted and the function is disturbed. Vibration-related damage can occur immediately or briefly, depending on the manifestation of the vibrations, or diminish the fatigue limit.
In order to solve the set of issues in terms of vibrations in plug-contact connections, DE 10 2017 103 903 A1 proposes a plug connection with a plug assembly which has a connection part which is elastically decoupled from a receptacle device in that the fastening part comprises vibration-damping material. This means that the plug connection as an entity is elastically decoupled from vibration stresses.
Fastening technology in the case of dynamic loads often uses damping elements in the form of rubber disks, or couples vibration-sensitive components by way of fastening elements with an elastic layer, for example known under the Silentblock name.
It would be desirable to refine plug connectors and design the latter so as to be more resistant in terms of vibration-related stresses and the influence of other static and/or dynamic mechanical forces, and to improve the functionality and the reliability of the electric contact of the plug connection.
In order to achieve this, the disclosure proposes an elastomer component in the form of an elastomer sleeve which elastically mounts, i.e. positions, the contact socket and/or the contact pin in a plug-contact plug. The disclosure recognizes that the suitable design embodiment of the elastomer component is capable of at least reducing loads due to vibration and/or shaking, and in this way to reduce the wear and/or abrasion between the contact pin and the contact socket. This is achieved in that the relative movement between the contact elements, contact partners, i.e. the contact pin and the contact socket, is reduced as a result of the damping effect of the elastomer component, this leading to a reduction in the oscillation amplitude of the vibratory movement. This results above all in a reduction of wear of the contact partners on their mutual contact faces, and potentially also on their respective contact faces with the plug-connector housings, the service life being increased in this way. In this way, the preservation of the function of the plug connection is facilitated, improved and extended, and the risk of failure, i.e. the risk of consequential damage, due to vibratory stress is reduced.
The disclosure provides the elastomer component in the form of a socket and sizes the dimensions thereof in relation to the contact pin or the contact socket encompassed by the elastomer component, and in relation to the plug-connector housing, substantially as a clearance fit. An optimized vibration-damping characteristic can be achieved as a result, which however cannot act in a sealing manner.
The basic form of the elastomer component designed as a socket is capable to absorb and dampen vibratory movements radial to its axis, or to absorb and dampen the radial force components of said vibratory movements. If axial force components are also to be dampened and/or positioning tasks of the contact elements in the axial direction are to be implemented, the disclosure additionally provides further geometric components of the socket, such as, for example, a collar, a socket collar. The geometric design of the socket can also be supplemented by an introduction ramp.
The disclosure will be explained in more detail hereunder by way of example by means of an exemplary embodiment in conjunction with the figures in which:
When viewed in the plug-in direction, the elastomer element 1 is disposed in front of the contact socket 10. Said elastomer element 1 spaces apart the contact socket 10 and the contact pin 20 from one another and, besides the elastically deformable socket contact element 11, implements the second elastically deformable contact-face pairing between the contact socket 10 and the contact pin 20. As a result, the mutual relative movement of the contact partners is possible, and is protected in terms of vibration-damping and/or shock-absorbing by the elastomer element 1.
In order to facilitate simple and easy assembling, it is provided that the elastomer element 1 on the inside of the cylindrical main body 2 and at the end of the cylindrical main body 2 that lies opposite the collar 3 has an introduction ramp 4 so that the contact pin 20 can be more easily introduced into the contact socket 10. The elastomer element 1 can be supplemented with a chamfer 5. The chamfer 5 is produced by an incline of approximately 45 degrees and extends over approx. 1/10 of the length of the cylindrical main body 2. The introduction ramp 4 is produced by an incline of approximately 15 degrees and extends over approx. ⅕ of the length of the cylindrical main body 2.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2021 107 308.1 | Mar 2021 | DE | national |
This application is a National Stage Application of PCT/EP2022/056687, filed Mar. 15, 2022, which claims priority to German Patent Application Serial No. 102021107308.1, filed Mar. 24, 2021, both of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety herein.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2022/056687 | 3/15/2022 | WO |
