Plug with a guide plate

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plug, in particular an electrical plug, having a guide plate designed to be electrically insulating. The plug has a plurality of, in particular stamped, electrical contact wires, in particular contact pins. The contact wires have a polygonal cross-section, in particular a quadrangular cross-section, and are guided through an opening in the guide plate and protrude from the guide plate. According to the present invention, the opening comprises a guide axis extending along the thickness of the guide plate. The guide axis comprises at least one planar wall portion with a flat side for guiding the contact wires. The guide axis also comprises at least one wall region, opposite the planar wall portion and extending obliquely relative thereto, which is designed to contact a corner of the contact wire. The guide axis is preferably designed so that, when passing through the opening, the contact wire is pressed with its corner against the oblique wall region and deforms, in particular bends, any burrs formed at the corners.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a plug, in particular an electrical plug, having a guide plate designed to be electrically insulating. The plug has a plurality of, in particular stamped, electrical contact wires, in particular contact pins. The contact wires have a polygonal cross-section, in particular a quadrangular cross-section, and are guided through openings in the guide plate and protrude from the guide plate. Background Art

[0002] No. 7,000,476,66 B2 discloses a guide plate for contact wires of a plug, wherein the guide plate has openings for the lead-through of the contact wires, wherein the openings have an oval or rhombus-shaped insertion funnel and a correspondingly shaped opening.

[0003] In plugs with stamped contact wires, which are designed to be soldered to openings in a circuit board, burrs generated on the contact wires during the stamping process can break off or become detached when inserted into the circuit board or when passing through a guide plate and, acting as metal wires in the electrical device, can cause short circuits. Summary of the Invention

[0004] According to the invention, the opening has a guide shaft extending along the thickness of the guide plate. The guide shaft has at least one planar wall portion for guiding the flat side of the contact wire. The guide shaft also has at least one wall region, opposite the planar wall portion, extending obliquely relative to the wall portion, which is designed to contact the corners of the contact wire. The guide shaft is further preferably designed to press the contact wire with its corners against the obliquely extending wall region when passing through the opening, and to deform, in particular bend, the burrs formed at the corners. The flat side of the guide shaft advantageously ensures good and smooth guidance of the contact wire. The obliquely extending wall region opposite thereto, combined with the guidance by the planar wall region, allows for a higher positioning accuracy of the contact wire within the guide plate, and thus also for a higher positioning accuracy between adjacent contact wires. The contact wire is preferably designed as a sheet metal stamping, which is, for example, additionally bent and / or embossed by a forming process. Here, a punching and cutting tool is placed on the supporting side of a raw material sheet provided for contact wire production. The punching and cutting tool, in conjunction with a counter-cutting tool (e.g., a die), shears or cuts one or more contact wires from the raw material sheet in a defined contour. For manufacturing reasons, the burr side opposite the supporting side of the punching and cutting tool has corresponding burrs at the corresponding shearing edges, which protrude from the corresponding shearing edges. The defined shaping of the opening effectively prevents shearing of the burrs when the contact wire is assembled through the opening. To this end, the burr side of the contact wire faces the obliquely extending wall region. Consequently, the supporting side of the contact wire faces the flat wall. This ensures that the contact wire's abutment side can rest against the flat wall when passing through the opening, allowing the contact wire to be guided through the opening with minimal mechanical stress on its abutment side. Furthermore, it has been shown that the burrs on the burr side of the contact wire that come into contact with the wall of the opening during passage are advantageously not sheared or cut, but rather simply bend in a flexural manner due to the oblique contact forces acting on them. This advantageously allows the burr to remain formed on the contact wire, preventing detached burr particles from forming into wire strands. Furthermore, the bent burr is in a more advantageous position, preventing it from breaking off easily even when the contact wire is subsequently passed through an opening in the printed circuit board, for example, to form a solder contact there. The burr can thus be folded onto the contact wire, in particular onto its flat side, by bending, thereby again very simply and effectively avoiding the risk of wire strands forming. Furthermore, after the contact wire has subsequently passed through the opening in the printed circuit board and formed therein, its contact side can rest in a supporting manner on the planar wall of the opening. This can also be reinforced, for example, by a corresponding arrangement of the contact wire relative to the printed circuit board, wherein, due to this arrangement, an effective preload is generated in the contact wire, for example due to tensioning the contact wire, so that the preload causes the contact side to move toward the planar wall of the opening, preferably until it contacts the contact wire.The planar support significantly reduces the risk of whisker formation (which would otherwise develop over time) in the event of high point loads, since the burr side is also kept at a maximum distance from the obliquely extending wall region.

[0005] The contact wire is preferably a copper wire, in particular made of copper or a copper alloy. In addition, the contact wire can (also only in some areas) be tinned or have a coating that is solderable and / or solder-wettable. Thus, the contact wire can be advantageously provided at low cost.

[0006] The opening preferably extends transversely to the plate plane.Thus, the guide plate can advantageously be pushed onto the contact wire, in particular the contact pin.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the cross section of the wall region is curved, in particular circular arc-shaped. This advantageously allows for the formation of a semi-cylindrical opening wall. The curved or circular arc-shaped opening wall advantageously allows the burrs to bend evenly when pressed against the curved opening wall.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the wall area is designed to be V-shaped or roof-shaped. The burrs at the roof-shaped slope designed in this way can advantageously be bent into an angular position corresponding to the slope.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the V-shaped angle is between 60 degrees and 160 degrees. More preferably, the V-shaped angle is at least 90 degrees. Thus, the burr can be bent to a greater extent when the opening size is relatively small.

[0010] The opening preferably has an insertion funnel, to which the guide shaft is connected. The insertion funnel makes it easier to insert or pass the contact wire through the corresponding opening. This also reliably compensates for non-central alignment of the contact wire relative to the opening. In a preferred embodiment, the insertion funnel is at least partially or completely conical. This advantageously allows the insertion funnel to capture positional deviations that occur uniformly on all sides of the contact wire.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the insertion funnel is at least partially or completely designed as a pyramid. Thus, the insertion funnel can advantageously guide the contact line to the guide axis along the pyramid angle forming the guide groove.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the insertion funnel has a flat bevel in the region of the planar wall side, wherein the insertion funnel is formed on the side opposite the flat bevel by a conical section, in particular a frustoconical section. As a result, the contact line can advantageously be introduced into the guide shaft along the flat bevel, more preferably through two V-shaped grooves delimiting the flat bevel, and guided in the region of the conical section to the rounded or roof-shaped wall region in order to deform the burr.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the insertion funnel has a flat bevel in the area of the planar wall and one or two guide grooves on the side opposite the flat bevel. This allows the contact wire to be advantageously slid onto the guide shaft via the corner of the contact wire in the pyramid corner, in particular in the V-shaped groove of the pyramid corner.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the plug comprises a plug housing. The guide plate comprises a recess for plug-in connection with the plug housing. As a result, the guide plate can be advantageously plugged onto the contact wires and connected to the plug housing in a plug-in manner, in particular a snap-on connection.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, preferably in a cross section of the opening, the longitudinal dimension of the opening, in particular the longitudinal dimension of the guide shaft, is equal to the transverse dimension of the opening. The insertion funnel, more preferably the guide shaft, can advantageously be provided with smaller outer dimensions.

[0016] The guide plate or, in addition, the plug housing is preferably made of plastic. The plastic is preferably a thermoplastic, such as polyamide, PMMA (PMMA = polymethyl methacrylate), polycarbonate, POM (POM = polyoxymethacrylate), or ABS (ABS = acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PBT (PBT = polybutylene terephthalate), or ASA copolymer (ASA = acrylonitrile styrene acrylate). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The invention is now explained below with reference to the drawings and other exemplary embodiments. Further advantageous embodiment variants result from the combination of the features described in the drawings and the dependent claims.

[0018] Figure 1 An embodiment of a contact system is schematically shown, comprising a guide plate for a plug and a contact wire, wherein the guide plate comprises an opening with a curved wall region designed to deform burrs at the contact wire;

[0019] Figure 2 An embodiment of a contact system is schematically shown, comprising a guide plate for a plug and a contact wire, wherein the guide plate comprises an opening with a roof-shaped wall region designed to deform burrs at the contact wire;

[0020] Figure 3 Schematically illustrates one embodiment of an opening at a guide plate designed to deform a burr at a contact line, wherein the opening has an insertion funnel comprising a funnel mouth wall having flat and curved areas along the circumference of the funnel mouth;

[0021] Figure 4An embodiment of an opening at a guide plate is schematically shown, which is designed to deform a burr at a contact line, wherein the opening has an insertion funnel comprising a funnel mouth wall having a guide groove along the circumference of the funnel mouth;

[0022] Figure 5 An embodiment of an opening at the guide plate designed to deform the burr at the contact line is schematically shown in cross-section, wherein the insertion funnel is designed to be stepped;

[0023] Figure 6 An embodiment of a plug having a guide plate through which the contact wires of the plug are passed is schematically shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Figure 1 An embodiment of a contact system 1 is shown. The contact system 1 includes a guide plate 2. The guide plate 2 has at least one opening 3. The opening 3 is designed to guide a contact wire 4 through and forms a guide axis for the contact wire 4. In this embodiment, the contact wire 4 has a quadrangular, particularly rectangular, cross-section. The contact wire 4 has a side surface 5, which is particularly flat. During the manufacture of the contact wire 4, the flat side surface 5 corresponds in particular to the contact side for a punching and cutting tool. The contact wire 4 has two corners 6 and 7 on the side opposite the side surface 5. A burr 8 is formed at the corner 6, and a burr 9 is formed at the corner 7. In this embodiment, the burrs 8 and 9 are produced when the contact wire 4 is punched out of a sheet of metal using a punching tool, wherein the punching tool surrounds the side surface 5 and extends from the side surface 5 to the corners 6 and 7 to punch out the wire 4. In this case, the burrs 8 and 9 are already produced at the corners. Therefore, the side opposite the flat side 5 corresponds to the burr side of the contact wire 4 (generated during the manufacturing process).

[0025] The opening 3 has a flat opening wall 10, which forms the soffit of the opening 3. The opening 3 and the guide plate 2 have a concave opening wall 11 opposite the flat wall 10. The wall 10 and the concave wall 11 each form a circumferential section along the soffit of the opening 3.

[0026] The opening 3 has a longitudinal dimension 13 and a transverse dimension 14 extending transversely thereto. In this embodiment, the longitudinal dimension 13 is equal to the transverse dimension 14. In this embodiment, the curvature of the concave opening wall 11, which is opposite the flat opening wall 10, has a radius of curvature 15. In this embodiment, the radius of curvature 15 is half the transverse dimension 14 and thus also half the longitudinal dimension 13.

[0027] When inserted into the opening 3, the contact wire 4 can rest with its flat side 5 opposite the burrs 8 and 9 against the flat wall 10 and slide into the opening 3 there. Here, the burrs 8 and 9 are bent relative to one another at the curved opening wall 11, in particular at the bevel 12 formed by the rounding. As a result, particularly when the contact wire 4 is further inserted into the opening of the printed circuit board, the burrs 8 and 9 can no longer rest against the edge of the opening of the printed circuit board and can break off there.

[0028] Figure 2 An embodiment of a guide plate 22 having an opening 21 is shown. The opening 21 is designed to guide a contact wire 27 through and forms a guide axis for the contact wire 27. The opening 21 has a planar opening wall 23, which is formed as a perimeter segment along the perimeter of the soffit of the opening 21. The opening 21 has an opening wall 23, which is opposite the planar opening wall 23 and has a V-shaped or roof-shaped cross section. The V-shaped opening wall comprises an opening wall 24, which is arranged at an angle relative to the planar opening wall 23, and an opening wall 25, which extends at a predetermined angle 26 relative to the opening wall 24. The opening walls 24 and 25 each form a side of the V-shape in the cross section of the opening 21. A plumb line 20 extending from the intersection of the sides 24 and 25 to the opposing planar wall 23 extends perpendicular to the planar wall 23 and, in this embodiment, forms the bisector of an angle 26, which extends between the opening walls 24 and 25, which are each arranged at an angle relative to the planar wall 23.

[0029] In this exemplary embodiment, a contact wire 27 is inserted into the opening 21. The contact wire 27 has a flat side 16, which, in this exemplary embodiment, abuts against the planar wall portion 23 when inserted into the opening 21. The flat side 16 is, in particular, the abutment side for a punching and cutting tool when producing the contact wire 27. On the side of the contact wire opposite the flat side 16, which is in particular the burr side, the contact wire 27 has two corners 28 and 29. A burr 31 is formed at the corner 28, and a burr 30 is formed at the corner 29. When inserted into the opening 21, the burrs bend toward each other at the V-shaped opening walls formed by the wall portions 24 and 25.

[0030] In this embodiment, the transverse dimension 32 of the opening 21 corresponds to the longitudinal dimension 33 of the opening 21. In another embodiment, the opening 21 may have a maximum longitudinal dimension that is not equal to, in particular greater than or less than, the maximum width dimension of the opening.

[0031] Figure 3An embodiment of a guide plate 17 is shown. The guide plate 17 has an opening 70 for accommodating a contact wire. In this embodiment, the opening 70 forms a guide shaft for the contact wire. In this embodiment, the opening 70 has an insertion funnel 34. The opening 70 also has a flat opening wall 69. In the region of the flat wall 69, the insertion funnel 34 has a flat bevel 37 that extends at a predetermined angle to the flat wall 69. This allows the contact wire to slide into the opening 70 at the flat bevel 37 using an edge formed on the end face. The flat bevel 37 is defined by two grooves 35 and 36, specifically guide grooves.

[0032] Grooves 35 and 36 form the boundary between the inclined funnel wall 37 and the remaining funnel area along the funnel turn. In this embodiment, the inclined surface 37, the grooves 35 and 36, and the funnel walls adjacent to the grooves 35 and 36, respectively, form a portion or half of a truncated cone. With the inclined funnel wall 37 extending at a predetermined angle to the planar opening wall 69, the insertion funnel 34 is designed in the shape of a half-truncated cone, particularly a semi-circular truncated cone. With this design of the funnel wall, the two corners of the contact line can slide into the opening 70 during insertion.

[0033] In this embodiment, the opening 70 has a longitudinal dimension 38 that is designed to be the same size as a transverse dimension 39 extending transversely thereto.

[0034] In another embodiment, the opening 70 may have a maximum longitudinal dimension that is not equal to, and in particular, is greater than or less than, the maximum width dimension of the opening.

[0035] Figure 3 The insertion funnel 34 shown can be designed to Figure 1 The opening 3 of the guide plate 2 is shown. Here, the opening 3 replaces the Figure 3 The opening 70 in the.

[0036] Figure 4 One embodiment of an insertion funnel 44 is shown. The insertion funnel 44 surrounds the opening 71 and is designed to catch the contact wire to pass through the opening 71 .

[0037] In this embodiment, an opening 71 forming a guide shaft for the contact wire and an insertion funnel 44 surrounding it are designed in the guide plate 18. The opening 71 has a planar opening wall 41, with two opening walls 47 and 48, each forming a V-shaped edge, arranged opposite it in cross section. In this embodiment, the insertion funnel 44 has four grooves 42, 43, 45, and 46, in particular guide grooves, which extend into the corners of the opening 71. This allows the corner of the guide wire to be advantageously inserted into the opening 71 in a groove along its longitudinal extension. The insertion funnel 44 has an arcuate edge region 40 opposite the planar opening wall 41. In this embodiment, the funnel wall region 40 is designed as a truncated cone segment, in particular a truncated circular segment.

[0038] In this embodiment, a transverse dimension 49 of the opening 71, which is transverse to the longitudinal dimension of the opening 41, is designed to be as long as the longitudinal dimension 50. In this embodiment, the longitudinal dimension 50 corresponds to the longitudinal extension of the planar opening wall 41 in the cross section of the opening 71. In this embodiment, the transverse dimension 49 corresponds to the longitudinal dimension from the vertex formed by the inclined surfaces 47 and 48 to a plumb line from the planar opening wall 41.

[0039] In another embodiment, the opening 71 may have a maximum longitudinal dimension that is not equal to, in particular, greater than or less than, the maximum width dimension of the opening.

[0040] Figure 4 The insertion funnel 44 shown can be implemented in Figure 2 The guide plate 22 shown. Here, Figure 2 The opening 21 shown replaces Figure 4 The opening 71 shown. Thus, the insertion funnel 44 surrounds Figure 2 The opening 21 shown. Here, Figure 4 The planar opening wall 41 shown replaces the Figure 2 The planar opening wall 23 is shown, and the opening wall 47, which is opposite the planar opening wall 41 and arranged obliquely, replaces the opening wall 24, and the oblique opening wall 48 replaces the opening wall 25. As a result, the contact line 27 can be captured in the insertion funnel 44 and reliably slid into the opening 21. The burrs 30 and 31 are then bent in the top area of the opening 71 formed by the oblique opening walls 47 and 48.

[0041] Figure 5 An embodiment of an opening 51 with an insertion funnel 52 is shown, which is designed in the guide plate 19. The opening 51 has a guide shaft 72. The guide shaft 72 has, for example, a cross section according to Figure 1 or Figure 2 The shape and size of one of the above openings.

[0042] In this embodiment, Figure 5The insertion funnel 52 shown is designed to have a stepped insertion angle. The insertion funnel 52 comprises a funnel wall region 55 having a predetermined funnel angle 73 .

[0043] In this embodiment, the longitudinal extension 53 of the guide shaft 72 of the opening in the guide plate 19 is designed to be larger than the longitudinal extension 54 of the insertion funnel 52 in the thickness direction of the guide plate 19 .

[0044] The insertion funnel 52 has a funnel wall region 56 , the funnel angle 74 of which is designed to be smaller than the funnel angle 73 of the funnel wall region 55 . The funnel wall region 56 extends between the funnel wall region 55 and the guide axis 72 .

[0045] Thus, the funnel wall region 55 forms a first funnel stage, to which a second funnel stage formed by the funnel wall region 56 is connected. The second funnel stage formed by the funnel wall 56 is designed so that the burrs (e.g. Figure 1 The burrs shown in 8 or 9, or Figure 2 The burrs 30 or 31 shown in FIG are gradually bent when inserted into the contact line 59 that can form such burrs, thereby folding at the contact line 59. The burrs 8 or 9 can be deformed thereby.

[0046] In this embodiment, the longitudinal dimension of the second funnel stage corresponds in each case along the thickness direction of the guide plate 19 to the longitudinal dimension 57 of the first funnel stage.

[0047] Figure 6 An embodiment of a plug 60 is shown, which is shown in a cross-sectional view. The plug 60 has a plug housing 62, in particular a plastic housing. The plug 60 also has a plurality of contact wires, in this embodiment four contact wires. One of the contact wires is, for example, already in Figure 1 . The contact wire 4 extends with one end section into a plug receptacle of the plug 60 designed for contacting a mating plug. The other end of the contact wire 4, opposite the receptacle, extends in a manner bent away from the housing 62 and is designed for soldering to the circuit board 61.

[0048] In this embodiment, plug 60 further includes additional contact wires 63, 64, and 65, each extending parallel to contact wire 4 at intervals. Contact wires 4, 63, 64, and 65 are each passed through openings in guide plate 2 designed for the respective contact wire. Guide plate 2 can be an integral part of plug 60. To connect to guide plate 2, plug 60 has a protrusion 68 designed to engage with a recess 67 in guide plate 2. Guide plate 2 can thus be plugged onto protrusion 68 and thus connected to housing 62 in a force-fitting and / or form-fitting manner.

[0049] Here, the contact wire 4 is guided through the opening 3 in the guide plate 2. Figure 1The opening 3 in the guide plate 2 is designed to be adapted to the opening 3 shown. Alternatively, the design can also be adapted to Figure 2 . As a result, burrs formed on the contact wire 4 or the further contact wires 63, 64 or 65 can be deformed in a curved manner in the region of the inclined wall of the opening. The contact wires of the plug 60 can then be introduced into corresponding openings in a circuit board 61, in particular a THT circuit board (THT = through-hole technology), and soldered to the circuit board 61 by means of solder 66. In the soldered state, the contact wires 4, 63, 64, 65 are located between the plug and the circuit board 61 in a particularly slightly tensioned arrangement, thereby generating an effective prestress therein, which causes the contact wires 4, 63, 64, 65 to move in the respectively planar wall 5, 16 in the passed opening 3, 21, in particular to abut against it. Here, the contact wires 4, 63, 64, 65 are oriented in the openings 3, 21 passing through the guide plates 2, 22 so that the contact sides 5 of the contact wires 4, 63, 64, 65 face the planar wall 10, 23 and the burr sides face the concave opening wall 11 or the inclined opening walls 24, 25.

[0050] As a result, the plug 60 can advantageously be free of burrs that may have fallen off the contact wires and cause short circuits. Furthermore, whisker formation during operation of the plug 60 is significantly reduced.

Claims

1. A plug (60) having a guide plate (2, 22, 17, 18, 19) designed to be electrically insulating, wherein the guide plate (2, 22, 17, 18, 19) has a plurality of stamped electrical contact wires (4, 27, 59, 63, 64, 65), wherein the contact wires (4, 27, 59, 63, 64, 65) have a quadrangular cross section and are guided through openings (3, 21, 51, 70, 71) in the guide plate (2, 22, 17, 18, 19) and protrude from the guide plate (2, 22, 17, 18, 19), wherein the contact line has a flat side and an opposite burred side, wherein burrs (8, 9) are formed at corners (6, 7) of the burred sides, and wherein the opening (3, 21, 51, 70, 71) has a guide axis in a thickness extension direction of the guide plate (2, 22, 17, 18, 19), wherein the guide shaft has at least one flat wall (10, 23, 41) for guiding the flat side of the contact wire (4, 27, 59, 63, 64, 65), wherein the guide shaft opposite to the planar wall has a wall region extending obliquely relative to the wall in cross section, the cross section being designed to be arc-shaped, V-shaped, or roof-shaped, and the wall region being designed to contact the corner of the burr side of the contact line (4, 27, 59, 63, 64, 65), and The guide shaft is designed to press the corners of the burr sides against the obliquely extending wall area when the contact line (4, 27, 59, 63, 64, 65) passes through and bend the burrs toward each other.

2. The plug (60) according to claim 1, It is characterized by: The arc-shaped wall regions (11, 55, 56) are designed as circular arcs.

3. The plug (60) according to claim 1, It is characterized by: The angle (26) of the V-shape is between 60 degrees and 160 degrees.

4. The plug (60) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, It is characterized by: The opening (3, 21, 51, 70, 71) has an insertion funnel (34, 37, 44, 52) to which the guide shaft is connected.

5. The plug (60) according to claim 4, It is characterized by: The insertion funnel (34, 37, 44, 52) is at least partially conical in design.

6. The plug (60) according to claim 4, It is characterized by: The insertion funnel (34, 37, 44, 52) is designed at least partially in the shape of a pyramid.

7. The plug (60) according to claim 4, It is characterized by: The insertion funnel (34, 44, 52) has a flat bevel in the region of the planar wall (10, 23, 69, 41) and is formed by a conical section (40) on the side opposite the flat bevel.

8. The plug (60) according to claim 4, It is characterized by: The insertion funnel (34, 37, 44, 52) has a flat bevel in the region of the planar wall (10, 23, 69, 41) and a guide groove on the side opposite the flat bevel.

9. The plug (60) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, It is characterized by: The plug (60) has a plug housing (62), and the guide plate (2, 22, 17, 18, 19) has a recess (67) for plug-in connection with the plug housing (62).

10. The plug (60) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, It is characterized by: The longitudinal dimension (13, 33, 38, 50) of the opening (3, 21, 51, 70, 71) is equal to the transverse dimension (14, 32, 30, 49) of the opening (3, 21, 51, 70, 71).

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