Plug connector with contact insert fastener

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical plug connector having a plug connector housing which has a cable feed opening, a connection opening, at least one first holding profile and at least one contact insert. The contact insert accommodates at least one contact element and / or at least one plug connector module and / or a half plug connector module and has at least one fastening frame. The fastening frame has at least one second holding profile, the second holding profile corresponding to the first holding profile, and the at least one holding mechanism interacts with the first holding profile and the corresponding second holding profile.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention is based on a plug-in connector with a contact insert fastener of the type according to independent claim 1 .

[0002] Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for connecting a contact insert to a plug-in connector housing of a plug-in connector according to claim 10 .

[0003] Such a contact insert fastener is required in order to preferably releasably fasten a contact insert, which is optionally embodied as a module holding frame for accommodating a plug connector module and / or a half of a plug connector module, in a plug connector housing. Background Art

[0004] Industrial plug connectors, also called heavy-duty plug connectors or rectangular plug connectors, usually have a contact insert which is releasably fastened in a plug connector housing by means of a screw connection. In this case, the contact insert can be designed directly for accommodating contact elements. Alternatively, the prior art also discloses clever solutions in which the contact insert is designed as a holding frame which in turn accommodates one or more identical and / or mutually different plug connector modules. In this case, the plug connector module can also consist of a plurality of modular components which can likewise be identical and / or mutually different.

[0005] DE 197 07 120 C1 discloses a plug connector with a contact carrier, wherein the contact carrier is implemented as a holding frame for a plug connector module. Here, the contact carrier is conventionally fastened in the plug connector housing by means of a screw connection.

[0006] A disadvantage of the connection technology that is preferably used in the prior art is that a relatively long period of time is required in order to releasably introduce the contact carrier into the plug connector housing by means of four screw connections, which are usually arranged at the corners of the contact carrier. Summary of the invention

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a plug-in connector which can be equipped with a contact insert in a simple and quick manner and in which the contact insert is releasably and securely fastened in a plug-in connector housing of the plug-in connector.

[0008] Furthermore, the object of the present invention is to specify a method for simply and quickly fastening a contact insert in a plug-in connector housing, which method enables the contact insert to engage in the plug-in connector housing in a releasable and firmly fitting manner.

[0009] This object is achieved by the subject matter of independent claim 1 and by the method of independent claim 10 .

[0010] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims and in the following description.

[0011] The invention is based on an electrical plug connector, which has a plug connector housing with a cable lead-through opening, a connection opening, at least one first retaining shaped part and at least one contact insert. The contact insert has at least one contact element and / or at least one plug connector module and / or half of a plug connector module and has at least one fastening frame. The fastening frame has at least one second retaining shaped part, wherein the second retaining shaped part corresponds to the first retaining shaped part and wherein at least one retaining mechanism interacts with the first retaining shaped part and the corresponding second retaining shaped part. As a result, the fastening frame is retained in the plug connector housing by means of the retaining mechanism. The retaining mechanism has at least one fixing body, a fixing element and a latching element.

[0012] In principle, a plug connector housing is understood to be a housing of a cable end provided with contact elements. Plug connector housings are usually made of metal or plastic. In the case of plastic housings, electrically conductive plastics are also used. In addition, there are plug connector housings formed from composite materials, wherein the housing can be formed from metal and plastic or different metals or different plastics.

[0013] A cable lead-through opening is particularly understood to be a recess in a plug connector housing, which is provided for guiding one or more electrical leads and / or cables through. These cable lead-through openings are usually integrated with a cable gland, so that the objects led through are at least partially sealed against external media, such as dust, dirt or fluids.

[0014] The term “connection opening” refers to a recess in a plug connector housing, which is shaped for connection to a mating plug connector or a mating plug connector housing and / or a contact element arranged therein.

[0015] The term "first retaining profile" refers to a device on or in the plug connector housing, which is provided to enable the fastening of further components of the plug connector. Usually, a blind hole with an internal thread is inserted into the plug connector housing, into which a screw is introduced for fastening the further component. The first retaining profile usually extends into the plug connector housing, thereby locking the further component in the direction of the interior of the plug connector housing.

[0016] Behind the expression "contact insert" lie various alternatives. Firstly, this refers to a simple insulating body and / or a contact carrier, which serves to accommodate and / or spatially and / or electrically separate the contact elements. In the prior art, module holding frames are known, which in the case of the present invention are also understood as contact inserts in the assembled embodiment, i.e. with accommodated modules. Such module holding frames are designed to accommodate different and / or identical types of plug connector modules, wherein each plug connector module itself is understood as a contact insert or contact carrier. Recently, there are also a number of plug connector modules that can be formed from identical and / or mutually different submodules.

[0017] On the one hand, a fastening frame is a molded frame and / or mounting frame which is designed to fasten the contact insert in the plug connector housing. The module holding frame generally also has the properties of the fastening frame desired in the present invention. In particular in the case of a simple insulating body, the fastening frame can be designed in multiple parts and arranged on the insulating body. In the prior art, the fastening frame often consists of two separate elements which, in particular in industrial plug connectors, are arranged on the narrow sides of the contact insert and have no direct connection to one another.

[0018] The term "second retaining shaped part" refers to a device on or in the fastening frame, which is designed to enable the contact carrier to be fastened to the plug connector housing. Usually, through-holes are introduced into the fastening frame, through which screws for fastening to the plug connector housing are guided. In this case, the second retaining shaped part usually projects outwards, that is, away from the contact carrier.

[0019] A retaining mechanism refers to an element that is arranged to connect a first retaining molded portion with a second retaining molded portion. In other words, the retaining mechanism is used to secure the contact insert in the plug connector housing. Ideally, the retaining mechanism is designed to releasably connect the contact insert to the plug connector housing. According to the present invention, the retaining mechanism consists of different components. Among these components, there is at least one fixed body, a fixed element and a locking element. For different embodiments, the components can be composed of multiple elements. Therefore, it may make sense that the fixed body consists of at least two elements, such as a socket and a fastening molded portion arranged thereat for connecting to the first retaining molded portion. In a particularly advantageous manner, the fixing element can be provided with a locking element (Sicherungselement) so that it is locked in a corresponding locking molded portion in the fixed body in a loss-proof manner.

[0020] A retaining element designed in this way enables a simple, quick and reliable assembly of the contact insert in the plug connector housing. It is particularly useful here if the fixing element is designed as a pin-shaped element with a head and / or a collar, which allows the inserted fixing element to be introduced not too far into the fixing body on the one hand and to be removed from the fixing body again on the other hand. In this way, a simple installation of the contact insert is ensured which can also be easily reversed.

[0021] In one embodiment, the fixing body is connected to the first retaining shaped part. This means that at least a part of the fixing body pointing opposite to the plug-in direction is screwed, pressed or glued into the first retaining shaped part.

[0022] In another embodiment, the latching element is connected to the second retaining shaped portion. A latching sleeve, a latching spring, a latching hook or a similar element can be used as the latching element. Here, according to the invention, the latching element engages behind the second retaining shaped portion in the plug-in direction and thus fixes the contact insert in the plug connector housing.

[0023] A clever embodiment provides that the latching element is substantially formed as a circumferential projection, the outer diameter of which is greater than the inner diameter of the second retaining profile. Alternatively, the latching element is implemented as at least one latching hook arranged on the fixing body, which retains the second retaining profile in the plug connector housing in the connected state.

[0024] In a further developed embodiment, the contact insert with its fastening frame and a second retaining profile arranged on the fastening frame is pushed over the latching elements of the retaining mechanism, wherein the latching elements are resiliently retracted into the interior of the fixing body.

[0025] A further embodiment provides that the fastening element is inserted into the fastening body counter to the plug-in direction.

[0026] In an ingenious embodiment, the plug connector housing accommodates at least one first retaining means and at least one second retaining means, wherein the first retaining means are designed as socket elements and the second retaining means are designed as pin elements.

[0027] A further improved embodiment provides that a fixing element is arranged on the second holding means, which fixing element engages with the first holding means in the plugged-in state of the plug connector housing and the mating plug connector housing.

[0028] Furthermore, a method for connecting a contact insert to a plug-in connector housing is disclosed, wherein the plug-in connector housing has at least one first retaining molded portion, and wherein the contact insert has at least one second retaining molded portion, wherein the first retaining molded portion corresponds to the second retaining molded portion, and wherein, for connecting the contact insert to the plug-in connector housing, at least one retaining mechanism is used, which has a fixing body, a fixing element and a locking element.

[0029] A further embodiment of the method provides that the fixing body is designed essentially as a hollow pin having an elongated through-hole and / or a slot, at which the latching element is arranged in an elastically inwardly displaceable manner.

[0030] An elegant embodiment of the method provides that the fastening element is inserted into the fastening body and blocks an elastic displacement of the latching element.

[0031] A further embodiment of the method provides that the plug connector accommodates at least a first retaining means and a second retaining means, wherein the second retaining means has a fixing element which interacts with a fixing body of the first retaining means when the plug connector housing is plugged into a mating plug connector housing.

[0032] Finally, one embodiment of the method provides that the first retaining means and the second retaining means are used as coding, which means that the retaining means are used as means to prevent incorrectly oriented plugging of the plug connector and the mating plug connector or to prevent the first plug connector from being accidentally plugged into the second mating plug connector provided for the second plug connector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It is shown in the drawings:

[0034] Figure 1 A perspective sectional view showing a retaining mechanism according to the present invention in a plug connector;

[0035] Figure 2 A perspective sectional view showing the rotation of the holding mechanism according to the invention in the plug connector;

[0036] Figure 3 A perspective sectional view shows an alternative retaining mechanism according to the invention in a plug connector;

[0037] Figure 4 A perspective view of a holding mechanism according to the invention in a fastening frame is shown.

[0038] The drawings include partially simplified schematic illustrations. In some cases, the same reference numerals are used for identical, but possibly different, elements. Different views of the same element may be scaled differently. Directional indications, such as "left", "right", "upper" and "lower", are to be understood with reference to the corresponding drawings and may vary in the individual illustrations relative to the objects shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] Figure 1 and Figure 2 A partial view of a plug connector with a plug connector housing 1 and a first retaining profile 2 located therein is shown. In addition, a fastening frame 4 of a contact insert 3 can be seen, wherein the contact insert 3 is not shown. The fastening frame 4 has a second retaining profile 5. A retaining mechanism 6 is connected to the first retaining profile 2. Here, the retaining mechanism 6 is basically implemented in two parts. First, it can be seen that the fixing body 60 of the retaining mechanism 6 is connected to the first retaining profile 2. The fixing body 60 is basically implemented in a hollow cylindrical manner. A fixing element 61 is arranged in the fixing body 60. The fixing element 61 has a head that serves as a release element 62. The release element 62 enables or at least simplifies the release of the second retaining profile 5 from the retaining mechanism 6. In order to prevent loss and to facilitate operation, the fixing element 61 has a locking element 64, which engages in a first locking profile 65 in the open state. The first locking profile 65 is located at the end area of ​​the fixing body 60 located in the plug-in direction S. The second locking profile 65' is arranged in the fixing body 60 in such a way that the fixing element 61 is locked in the closed position. A projection serving as a latching element 63 is provided circumferentially on the outer side of the fixing body 60, which first enables the second retaining profile 5 to be pushed over the latching element 63. After the fastening frame 4 with the second retaining profile 5 is first releasably brought onto the latching element 63, the fixing element 61 is released as in Figure 2 As can be seen in FIG. 1 , locking is achieved by a pressure movement D.

[0040] Figure 3 An alternative embodiment of the plug connector according to the invention is shown. Here, the plug connector is connected to a mating plug connector. The plug connector is designed with a plug connector housing 1 and a holding device 6 arranged in a first holding profile 2. The previously described and Figure 1 and 2. The mating plug connector and the mating plug connector housing 1' have an alternative second retaining means 6' in their first retaining profile 2'. The second retaining means 6' has a fixing element 61 on the end side of its fixing body 60' pointing in the plug-in direction S' of the mating plug connector. It can be seen here that the second retaining means 6' is arranged on the end side of the fixing element 61 when viewed in the plug-in direction S'. In the illustrated plugged state of the plug connector and the mating plug connector, the fixing element 61 is engaged with the fixing body 60. In this way, the contact insert 3 of the plug connector housing 1 and its fastening frame 4 are securely held with the mating plug connector housing 1' and the corresponding components during the plugged state. Here, the fixing element 61 is ideally removed from the fixing body 60 during the release process of the plug connector housing 1 and the mating plug connector housing 1' after overcoming the plug-in force or tensile force of the contact elements arranged in the contact inserts 3 and 3', so that the contact inserts 3 and 3' are not released from the plug connector housing 1 or the mating plug connector housing 1'.

[0041] Figure 4 An ingenious embodiment is shown, in which the plug connector housing 1 designed as an attachment housing accommodates first and second retaining means 6, 6' in each case in alternating fashion in the circumferential direction in the first retaining profile 2. The illustrated arrangement allows for particularly advantageous fastening of the contact insert 3 to be inserted or the fastening frame 4 located thereon. Alternative arrangements of the retaining means 6 and 6' are conceivable for coding purposes.

[0042] Even if different aspects or features of the invention are shown in combination in the drawings, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the combinations shown and discussed are not the only possible ones, unless otherwise stated. In particular, corresponding units or feature combinations from different embodiments can be interchanged.

[0043] Reference numerals list

[0044] 1 Plug connector housing

[0045] 2. First retaining molding part

[0046] 3 Contact insert

[0047] 4 Fasten the frame

[0048] 5 Second holding molding part

[0049] 6,6' holding mechanism

[0050] 60 Fixed body

[0051] 61 Fixing elements

[0052] 62 Release element

[0053] 63 Locking element

[0054] 64 Locking element

[0055] 65 Locking molding part

[0056] S plug-in direction

[0057] D Pressure Exercise

Claims

1. An electrical plug connector, comprising a plug connector housing (1), the plug connector housing having a cable lead-through opening, a connection opening, at least one first retaining shaped part (2) and at least one contact insert (3), wherein the contact insert (3) accommodates at least one contact element and / or at least one plug connector module and / or half of a plug connector module, and the contact insert (3) has at least one fastening frame (4), the fastening frame having at least one second retaining shaped part (5), wherein the second retaining shaped part (5) corresponds to the first retaining shaped part (2), wherein at least one retaining means (6, 6') interacts with the first retaining shaped part (2) and the corresponding second retaining shaped part (5), and wherein, The fastening frame (4) is held in the plug connector housing (1) by means of the holding means (6, 6'), It is characterized in that The holding mechanism (6, 6') comprises at least one fixing body (60), a fixing element (61) and a locking element (63).

2. The electrical plug connector according to claim 1, characterized in that The fixing body (60) is connected to the first retaining molding portion (2).

3. The electrical plug connector according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The locking element (63) is connected to the second retaining profile (5).

4. Electrical plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The latching element (63) is substantially formed as a circumferential projection which has an outer diameter that is greater than the inner diameter of the second retaining shaped part (5).

5. Electrical plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The latching element (63) is embodied as at least one latching hook arranged on the fixing body (60), which latching hook holds the second retaining profile (5) in the plug connector housing (1) in the connected state.

6. Electrical plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The contact insert (3) with its fastening frame (4) and a second retaining profile (5) arranged on the fastening frame are pushed through the latching element (63) of the retaining mechanism (6, 6'), wherein the latching element (63) is elastically retracted into the interior of the fixing body (60).

7. Electrical plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The fixing element (61) is inserted into the fixing body (60) counter to the plug-in direction (S).

8. The electrical plug connector according to claim 1, characterized in that The plug connector housing (1) accommodates at least one first retaining means (6) and at least one second retaining means (6'), wherein the first retaining means (6) is embodied as a socket element and the second retaining means (6') is embodied as a pin element.

9. The electrical plug connector according to claim 1, characterized in that A fixing element (61) is arranged on the second retaining mechanism (6'), and the fixing element is engaged with the first retaining mechanism (6) when the plug connector housing (1) is plugged into the mating plug connector housing (1').

10. Method for connecting a contact insert (3) to a plug connector housing (1), wherein: The plug connector housing (1) has at least one first retaining shaped part (2), and the contact insert (3) has at least one second retaining shaped part (5), wherein the first retaining shaped part (2) corresponds to the second retaining shaped part (5), It is characterized in that In order to connect the contact insert (3) to the plug connector housing (1), at least one retaining means (6, 6') is used, which has a fixing body (60), a fixing element (61) and a latching element (63).

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The fixing body (60) is substantially designed as a hollow pin having an elongated through-hole, at which the latching element is arranged in an inwardly elastically displaceable manner.

12. The method according to claim 11, characterized in that The fixing element (61) is introduced into the fixing body (60) and prevents elastic displacement of the locking element (63).

13. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that The plug-in connector (1) accommodates at least a first retaining mechanism (6) and a second retaining mechanism (6'), wherein the second retaining mechanism (6') has a fixing element (61) which interacts with a fixing body (60) of the first retaining mechanism (6) when the plug-in connector housing (1) is plugged into a mating plug-in connector housing (1').

14. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that The first holding mechanism (6) and the second holding mechanism (6') are used as coding.

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