Gasket for an electrical connector

Abstract

A sealing gasket for an electrical connector is provided, comprising a plurality of through holes extending through the sealing gasket in a through hole direction; a grid of a first material having grid openings and arranged such that the through holes extend through the grid openings; a first material layer of a second material arranged on a first side of the grid; and a second material layer of a third material arranged on a second side of the grid opposite the first side, and wherein the first material of the grid has a greater compression modulus than the second material of the first material layer and the third material of the second material layer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a sealing gasket for electrical connectors. Background Technology

[0002] For example, connectors are commonly used in automotive engineering to reliably connect multiple wires electrically and mechanically to each other. A connector comprises a plug and a mating plug that engage with each other in both mechanical and electrical connection states. Both the plug and the mating plug have a non-conductive housing, for example, made of plastic. The geometry of the housing is designed so that when the plug and the mating plug are inserted together, a mechanical and electrical connection is achieved between them.

[0003] Numerous cables (or wires or contacts) are typically inserted into plugs and mating plugs, which are mechanically connected to the housings of the plug or mating plug, respectively. When the plug and mating plug mate, the end of the cable held in the plug contacts the end of the cable held in the mating plug, thus providing reliable electrical contact between the cables of the plug and the mating plug. The cable ends may also have suitably shaped contact pins for mechanical and electrical contact between the respective cable ends.

[0004] For this type of connector, it may be necessary to protect the contacts between the cable ends from dust or moisture penetration, especially in automotive applications. For this purpose, connectors are typically equipped with sealing gaskets. These gaskets are usually made of elastic materials such as silicone, rubber, or polymers. The gaskets are held within the housing of the plug and / or mating plug, for example, by a pressure plate.

[0005] In connectors used to connect a large number of contacts or cables, the gasket has many through-holes. Cables can pass through each of these through-holes from the outside of the connector to the inside. The through-holes of the gasket have a cross-section such that the gasket fits tightly against the cable passing through it in the circumferential region of the through-hole. For this purpose, the corresponding through-hole typically has an internal cross-section that is smaller than the cross-section of the cable passing through it, at least in some areas.

[0006] When a cable passes through a gasket, it must overcome the frictional forces generated by the tightly fitting gasket. The material within the gasket undergoes elastic deformation and compression. Specifically, if the diameter of the cable passing through it is significantly larger than the cross-section of the corresponding through-hole, the resulting material compression generates a strong radial force applied to the cable, which can cause damage when the cable passes through the through-hole. However, damage to the through-hole means that the moisture-proof and dust-proof seal can no longer be guaranteed.

[0007] Furthermore, deformation can cause displacement of adjacent through holes, which may result in incorrect installation and incorrect contact, and may also damage cables, wires or contacts that will be guided through the through holes but will impact the displaced material of the gasket.

[0008] Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a sealing gasket for a multipole connector that ensures proper electrical contact and, after the plug and mating plug have been connected, guarantees and permanently maintains a reliable seal against moisture and dust. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The above objective is achieved by providing a sealing gasket for an electrical connector (having a plug and a mating plug), wherein the sealing gasket comprises:

[0010] Multiple through holes, which extend through the sealing gasket along the through hole direction;

[0011] A grid of a first material has grid openings and is arranged such that the through-holes extend through the grid openings;

[0012] The first material layer of the second material is disposed on the first side of the grille; and

[0013] The second material layer of the third material is disposed on the second side of the grille opposite to the first side; and

[0014] The first material of the grating has a greater compressive modulus than the second material of the first material layer and the third material of the second material layer.

[0015] Therefore, the through-hole extending through the sealing gasket extends through the first material layer, the grid mesh, and the second material layer. The portion of the grid mesh can be made of a second and / or third material portion.

[0016] In this article, the term "grid" also includes grid strips or mesh or mesh belts; these terms are not distinguished here. In other words, a grid can also be a grid strip or mesh or mesh belt (e.g., a fabric strip).

[0017] The connector's plug and mating plug are mechanically and electrically connected to each other, for example, by passing a cable, wire, or contact through a through-hole in the gasket. The grille can be much thinner than the first and second material layers. Therefore, for example, it can extend only in the through-hole direction at most 1 / 100 to 1 / 10 of the thickness of the first material layer and / or the second material layer in the through-hole direction, particularly 1 / 100 to 1 / 80 or 1 / 50, or 1 / 80 to 1 / 20, for example 1 / 60 to 1 / 30. In particular, the grille can be a fabric strip of the aforementioned thickness. The thicknesses of the first and second material layers can be the same or different.

[0018] According to the invention, a grid with a smaller compressible material (first material) is provided compared to the materials of the first and second material layers (second and third materials). This has the advantage of reducing and controlling the overall material deformation when the feed electrical connection (cable, wire or contact) passes through, increasing the stiffness and strength of the gasket, and thus increasing safety and sealing against installation failures (non-contact or incorrect contact), especially against moisture / water.

[0019] The second and third materials can be the same. In particular, the first material layer can be integrally formed with the second material layer. In this case, the grid can be molded by overlaying the first and second material layers.

[0020] In the above embodiments, the grid can be composed of a fiber web, particularly a fiber web made of synthetic resin. Such a grid can be manufactured relatively easily and is overmolded with precise positioning. The second material of the first material layer and the third material of the second material layer can be or include elastic silicone resin, rubber, or polymer materials.

[0021] In all the above embodiments, the through-holes can have any geometric (surface) shape, such as circular or rectangular. All through-holes can have the same diameter / cross-sectional area. In this case, the mesh size of the grid in the above embodiments can be larger than the diameter / cross-sectional area of ​​the through-holes in the first and second material layers. In this way, contact with controlled deformation of the second and third materials can be reliably achieved.

[0022] It should be noted that, for example, due to the provision of a sealing lip, the cross-sectional area of ​​each through-hole in the first and second material layers can vary in the through-hole direction. Here and below, the “cross-sectional area” or “diameter” of a through-hole in the first or second material layer is understood to be the maximum cross-sectional area or diameter along the through-hole direction when the cross-sectional area or diameter varies along the through-hole direction.

[0023] It should also be noted that the mesh openings can be square or circular (having the same mesh size in both the longitudinal and transverse directions perpendicular to the through-hole direction). However, other geometries are also possible, such that the mesh size of the grille in the longitudinal direction differs from the mesh size in the transverse direction in a plane perpendicular to the through-hole direction. In this case, the "mesh size" of the grille here and below is understood to be the smaller of the mesh size in the longitudinal direction and the mesh size in the transverse direction. In this case, the mesh size, or the longitudinal mesh size and the transverse mesh size, should be considered constant (i.e., they are invariant in either the longitudinal or transverse direction).

[0024] However, in the case of multi-pole connectors, it is also advantageous to pass cables, wires, or contacts with different cross-sections through the gasket, where a large number of cables, wires, or contacts will be connected to each other. Therefore, it is advantageous for the through-holes to have different cross-sectional areas. In this case, the grille in the above embodiments can have a constant mesh size, which is larger than the maximum diameter or maximum cross-sectional area of ​​the through-holes in the first and second material layers. Alternatively, the mesh size can vary laterally or longitudinally depending on the different cross-sectional areas of the through-holes. In any case, for each through-hole, the cross-sectional area of ​​the grille associated with it is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the through-hole. Similarly, through controlled deformation of the second and third materials, reliable contact between the connector's plug and mating plug can be achieved.

[0025] Furthermore, a multi-pole connector, for example, with 80 contact poles, is provided with a plug and a mating plug, as well as a sealing gasket according to one of the examples above. In the closed state of the connector (i.e., the plug and the mating plug are engaged), the sealing gasket is disposed between the plug and the mating plug, wherein the sealing gasket provides a through-hole for each pole (pin). The sealing gasket can be held by the plug and / or the mating plug by a suitable retaining device.

[0026] The above objective is also achieved by a method for manufacturing a sealing gasket for an electrical connector, the method comprising the following steps:

[0027] The grid is formed from the first material;

[0028] A first material layer of the second material is formed on the first side of the grille; and

[0029] A second material layer of a third material is formed on the second side of the grille opposite to the first side; and wherein

[0030] The first material of the grating has a greater compressive modulus than the second material of the first material layer and the third material of the second material layer.

[0031] When the first and second material layers are formed, portions of the grid mesh can be filled with second and / or third material portions.

[0032] The formation of the first and second material layers may include overmolding the grid with second and third materials. The formation of the grid may include injection molding of the grid.

[0033] Forming a grid may include forming a mesh of fabric strips (fabric mesh), and the method may further include overmolding the mesh of fabric strips and dividing the overmolded mesh of fabric strips to form a plurality of gaskets (and thus form the aforementioned gaskets).

[0034] According to one embodiment, in one of the methods described above, forming a grid includes forming a fabric web, and the method further includes cutting fabric strips from the fabric web to provide the grid. Multiple grids can be produced from the fabric web, which can be used to produce multiple gaskets in mass production.

[0035] Furthermore, a sealing gasket for an electrical connector is provided, which can be manufactured according to one of the above-described examples of the method for manufacturing a sealing gasket for an electrical connector according to the present invention. Attached Figure Description

[0036] Further features and exemplary embodiments of the invention, as well as its advantages, will be explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments do not exhaust the scope of the invention. It should also be understood that some or all of the features described below can be combined with each other in other ways.

[0037] Figure 1 A sealing gasket according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0038] Figure 2 A grille is shown as a component used as a sealing gasket according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 3 A connector having a plug, a mating plug, and a sealing gasket according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0040] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a sealing gasket for an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing a sealing gasket for an electrical connector according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0042] This invention provides a sealing gasket for a connector comprising a plug and a mating plug, wherein the sealing gasket ensures reliable mechanical and electrical contact between the plug and the mating plug, and reliably seals against water and contaminants. For example, the sealing gasket can be used in automotive applications.

[0043] Figure 1An embodiment of a sealing gasket 10 according to the present invention is shown. The sealing gasket 10 includes a grid 11 (or grid strip or mesh or mesh belt) disposed between a first material layer 12 and a second material layer 13. The sealing gasket 10 has through holes 14, which are partially formed in the first material layer 12 (14a) and partially formed in the second material layer 12 (14b), and extend through the grid mesh 11a in the through hole direction (i.e., substantially perpendicular to the direction of the grid mesh 11a). The cross-sections of the through holes 14, 14a, 14b may vary within the first material layer 12 and / or the second material layer 13, for example, decreasing towards the grid 11, and sealing lips may be formed in the through holes 14, 14a, 14b near the grid 11.

[0044] The first material layer 12 and the second material layer 13 can be formed from the same material, especially integrally formed. For example, the first material layer 12 and the second material layer 13 can be made of or include silicone resin, rubber, or polymer materials. The grille 11 can be made of or include plastic materials. This grille 11 also... Figure 2 As shown, it includes a grid mesh 11a, which has regular mesh sizes in the transverse direction Q and / or the longitudinal direction L (e.g., Figure 1 and 2 (as shown), or with irregular mesh sizes in the transverse direction Q and / or the longitudinal direction L.

[0045] According to the present invention, the material selected for the grid 11 is less compressible than the materials selected for the first material layer 12 and the second material layer 13. Therefore, the material selected for the grid 11 has a higher compressive modulus than the materials selected for the first material layer 12 and the second material layer 13.

[0046] By providing this grid 11, deformation of the materials of the first material layer 12 and the second material layer 13 is controlled and reduced when the cable (lead, contact) passes through the through holes 14, 14a, 14b. Specifically, when the cable feeds through the grid through the through holes, deformation of the materials of the first material layer 12 and the second material layer 13 in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the through holes is controlled and reduced. In particular, when the cable passes through one of the through holes 14, 14a, 14b, significant displacement of one or more adjacent through holes 14, 14a, 14b can be prevented, which would otherwise lead to incorrect contact and damage to the materials of the first or second material layer when attempting to make contact.

[0047] The sealing gasket described above can be used for Figure 3 Connector 20 is shown. (As shown) Figure 3 As shown, an embodiment of the connector 20 according to the present invention includes a multi-pole plug 21 having a plurality of contacts 21a and a sealing gasket 22 having a through hole 22a (e.g., Figure 1The sealing gasket 11 and mating plug 23 are shown. The sealing gasket 22 can be accommodated in the socket 23a of the mating plug 23. For example, when the connector 20 is closed, that is, when the plug 21 and the mating plug 23 are mechanically engaged, a cable (not shown) connected to the contact 21a of the connector 21 passes through the through hole 22a of the sealing gasket 22 and connects to the contact socket (contact) 23b of the mating plug 23.

[0048] For example, Figure 1 The sealing gasket 10 shown or Figure 3 The sealing gasket 22 shown can be manufactured using a multi-part injection molding process, including the overmolding of the grid. This can be accomplished using an injection molding machine equipped with two independently controlled injection units and corresponding control devices.

[0049] exist Figure 4 and 5 The flowchart illustrates two embodiments of a method for manufacturing a sealing gasket for an electrical connector, for example... Figure 1 The sealing gasket 10 shown or Figure 3 The sealing gasket 22 is shown.

[0050] according to Figure 4 In the illustrated embodiment, a molded grid (e.g., a grid) is injected into a first injection mold. Figure 1 and 2 The grid 11)(31) shown. The injection-molded grid is transferred to a second injection mold (32). In this second injection mold, the grid is overmolded with an elastic material, for example... Figure 1 The materials of the first and second material layers 12 and 13 are shown. In the second injection mold, a mandrel can be provided so that through-holes can be formed in the grid seal during forced demolding.

[0051] according to Figure 5 The illustrated embodiment uses a grid in the form of a fabric strip. A fabric web (41) is formed, which has grid openings. The fabric web can be temporarily stored on a roller (42).

[0052] To produce large quantities of sealing gaskets using fabric webs, for example Figure 1 and 3 For the type of gasket shown, the fabric web is at least partially unfolded and supplied to the injection mold (43) in the unfolded state. The gasket containing the fabric strips can then be produced by overmolding using a suitable material (e.g., silicone) in the injection mold 44. In principle, the fabric web can be cut into individual fabric strips, and gaskets can be produced by overmolding each fabric strip, or a larger portion of the fabric web can be overmolded, and then the overmolded portion of the fabric web can be cut to form individual gaskets.

[0053] Reference symbols:

[0054] 10, 22 sealing gaskets

[0055] 11 Grille

[0056] 11a grid mesh

[0057] 12 First Material Layer

[0058] 13 Second material layer

[0059] Through holes 14, 14a, 14b, and 22a

[0060] 20 connectors

[0061] 21 plug

[0062] 21a contact

[0063] 23. Matching plug

[0064] 23A socket

[0065] 23b Contact socket

Claims

1. A sealing gasket (10, 22) for an electrical connector (20), comprising: Multiple through holes (14, 14a, 14b, 22a) extend through the sealing gasket (10, 22) along the through hole direction, and each through hole is sized to sealably engage with the outer surface of a corresponding one of the multiple conductors of the electrical connector; A grid (11) of a first material having grid openings (11a) and arranged such that the through holes (14, 14a, 14b, 22a) extend through the grid openings (11a), each of the plurality of openings defined by the grid openings being larger than the corresponding opening defined by the through holes. A first material layer (12) of the second material is disposed on a first side of the grille (11), the first material layer defining a first sealing lip formed in each through hole near the grille, the first sealing lip being adapted to form a seal with the outer surface of the corresponding conductor of the plurality of conductors of the electrical connector; and A second material layer (13) of a third material is disposed on a second side of the grid (11) opposite to the first side. The second material layer defines a second sealing lip formed in each through hole near the grid. The second sealing lip is adapted to form a seal with the outer surface of the corresponding conductor of the plurality of conductors of the electrical connector. The first material of the grid (11) has a greater compressive modulus than the second material of the first material layer (12) and the third material of the second material layer (13).

2. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 1, wherein, The first material layer (12) and the second material layer (13) are integrally formed.

3. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 2, wherein, The grille (11) is molded by covering the first and second material layers (13).

4. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 1, wherein, The grid (11) is made of fabric strips or fiber mesh.

5. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 1, wherein, The grid (11) is made of synthetic resin fiber mesh.

6. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 1, wherein, The second and third materials are silicone resins, rubbers, or polymeric materials, or include silicone resins, rubbers, or polymeric materials.

7. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 1, wherein, The second material and the third material are identical to each other.

8. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, Each of the through holes (14, 14a, 14b, 22a) has the same cross-sectional area perpendicular to the direction of the through hole.

9. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 8, wherein, The mesh size of the grid (11) is larger than the cross-sectional area of ​​the through holes (14, 14a, 14b, 22a) in the first and second material layers (12, 13).

10. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The through holes (14, 14a, 14b, 22a) have different cross-sectional areas perpendicular to the direction of the through holes.

11. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to claim 10, wherein, The grid (11) has a constant mesh size that is larger than the maximum cross-sectional area of ​​the through holes (14, 14a, 14b, 22a) in the first and second material layers (12, 13); and / or For each through hole (14, 14a, 14b, 22a), the cross-sectional area of ​​the mesh (11a) of the associated grid (11) is greater than the cross-sectional area of ​​the through hole.

12. The sealing gasket (10, 22) according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein, The thickness of the grille (11) in the through-hole direction is at most 1 / 100 to 1 / 10, or 1 / 100 to 1 / 80 or 1 / 50, or 1 / 60 to 1 / 30 of the thickness of the first material layer (12) in the through-hole direction and the thickness of the second material layer (13) in the through-hole direction.

13. An electrical connector (20) comprising a plug (21) and a mating plug (23) and a sealing gasket (10, 22) according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein the sealing gasket is disposed between the plug (21) and the mating plug (23) in the closed state of the connector (20).

14. A method of manufacturing a sealing gasket (10, 22) for an electrical connector (20), comprising the steps of: A grid (11) is formed from a first material; A first material layer (12) of a second material is formed on the first side of the grid (11); and A second material layer (13) of a third material is formed on the second side of the grid (11) opposite to the first side; and wherein The first material of the grille (11) has a greater compressive modulus than the second material of the first material layer (12) and the third material of the second material layer (13). The first and second material layers define a plurality of through holes aligned with the opening of the grille. Each through hole defines an opening smaller than the corresponding opening of the grille. The first and second material layers each define a sealing lip formed in each through hole near the grille, and the sealing lip is adapted to seal against the outer surface of the corresponding conductor of the electrical connector.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, Forming the first and second material layers (13) includes overmolding the grid (11) with the second and third materials.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein, Forming the grid (11) includes injection molding the grid (11).

17. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, Forming a grid (11) includes forming a fabric web, and wherein the method further includes overmolding the fabric web and dividing the overmolded fabric web to produce a plurality of sealing gaskets (10, 22).

18. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein, Forming a grid (11) includes forming a fabric web, and wherein the method further includes separating a fabric strip from the fabric web to provide the grid (11).

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