Shielded plug connector housing

Abstract

The invention relates to a plug connector housing (10), which is formed from an at least partially perforated, electrically conductive housing body (1), which is at least partially infiltrated by an electrically non-conductive plastic material (4). The invention also relates to a plug connector using such a plug connector housing. The invention further relates to a method for producing a plug connector, in which a perforated metal housing body (1) is produced in a casting process or a sintering process, the housing body (1) being inserted into an injection mold, the housing body (1) being at least partially covered on the outside in the injection molding process by a plastic material (4), the plastic material (4) being at least partially covered on the housing body (1), and the plastic material (4) being at least partially covered on the housing body (1). The plastic material (4) also enters the opening and the interior of the housing body (1).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention is based on a plug connector housing according to the preamble of independent claim 1. The invention also relates to a plug connector according to claim 6 having such a plug connector housing, and a method according to claim 7 for producing a plug connector.

[0002] Plug connector housings in particular accommodate contact elements of plug connectors. They are used in a wide variety of application areas and therefore must meet a wide variety of requirements. The plug connector housing according to the invention is particularly used for electromagnetic shielding of the housing interior, thereby ensuring improved signal integrity of such a plug connector.

[0003] The quality of this electromagnetic shielding is usually determined by measuring the transfer impedance, also called coupling resistance. The lower the transfer impedance, the better the shielding effect of the plug connector housing. Background Art

[0004] Plug connector housings with a homogeneous material composition are known from the prior art. It often happens that parts of the surface of the plug connector housing are injection-molded with plastic material. However, this plastic component only performs haptic or sealing tasks and is not a component of the plug connector housing. DE 20 2011 105 009 U1 shows a metal plug connector housing and DE 20 2010 002 396 U1 shows a plastic plug connector housing.

[0005] Both materials (plastic and metal) have advantages and disadvantages. The housing material is selected depending on the task and area of ​​application of the plug connector.

[0006] DE 10 2012 102 275 A1 discloses a plug connector housing, the base body of which is made of metal which is covered by a plastic material.

[0007] In this plug connector housing, the metal part forms the basis of the plug connector housing, while the plastic part is added only for sealing reasons.

[0008] The German Patent and Trademark Office searched the following prior art in the priority application of the present application: US 2019 / 0146 169 A1 and US 4 713 277 A. Summary of the invention

[0009] The object of the present invention is to provide a plug connector housing which is light and at the same time provides high EMC shielding. Furthermore, the plug connector housing should be able to be manufactured at low cost.

[0010] This object is achieved by the subject-matter of the independent claims.

[0011] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in the dependent claims and in the following description.

[0012] The plug connector housing according to the invention has an at least partially open, electrically conductive housing body.

[0013] The housing body, for example, has the shape of a hollow cuboid or a hollow cylinder. An open plug side and an open cable outlet are already formed on the housing body.

[0014] In the sense of the invention, porosity exists when an outer opening and an inner opening in the wall of the housing body are connected to one another via a cavity. Instead of a cavity, the connection between two openings can also be referred to as a channel or a tube.

[0015] The open porosity is achieved, for example, by using porous metal or metal foam. A solid metal housing body can also be provided with pores to achieve similar properties. However, the manufacture of such a housing body would be overly complex and therefore expensive.

[0016] The hole distribution can be influenced or adjusted by the manufacturing process of the housing body. The manufacturing method of the plug connector housing will be explained in more detail below. By a suitable hole distribution, the electromagnetic shielding properties of the plug connector housing can be positively influenced compared to a non-porous material of the same material thickness. Likewise, a high overvoltage protection can be achieved by a suitable hole distribution.

[0017] The plug connector housing according to the invention is at least partially permeable to the electrically non-conductive plastic material. In this case, the hole is flowed through by a liquid or viscous medium (for example a plasticized polymer).

[0018] Preferably, the housing body is coated with plastic material on the outside. Additionally or alternatively, the housing body is coated with plastic material on the inside. Coating means that the plastic material is formed flat on the surface of the housing body and remains thereon and / or at it, or is connected thereto. Due to the open porosity, the housing body can also be penetrated by the plastic material.

[0019] On the outside, the plastic material forms the outer shell of the plug connector housing. The outer shell is closed to prevent the ingress of foreign media, such as fluids and / or dust. The outer shell can additionally have grooves and / or recesses in certain areas to improve the tactile feel of the plug connector housing.

[0020] The housing body may be made of conductive plastic. Preferably, however, the housing body is formed of open-cell metal foam.

[0021] As already mentioned above, the open porosity can be described by a plurality of holes in the housing body, wherein the plurality of holes each have a cavity which has an opening both on the outside and on the inside of the housing body. The housing wall of the housing body thus has a clearance through which material can pass from the outside into the interior and vice versa.

[0022] The above-mentioned cavities or interstices of the housing body are filled with plastic material. For this purpose, for example, in an injection molding process, a polymer is applied to the outside of the housing body under a certain pressure. In this case, the polymer penetrates into the cavity or interstices of the housing body and thus also into the interior of the housing body. It is also conceivable to carry out a die-casting process from the inside of the housing body. In this case, the polymer is pressed from the inside of the housing body so that it passes through the cavity to the outside.

[0023] The plug connector according to the invention consists of a plug connector housing as described above and an insulating body. In this case, the insulating body is fused to the plastic material of the plug connector housing or is completely encapsulated by the plastic material or is formed from the plastic material. In addition to the plug connector housing, all components required for the plug connector are placed in the injection mold. Therefore, such a plug connector can be manufactured in a small number of working steps.

[0024] The plug connector housing according to the invention is produced as follows: First, an open-pored metal housing body is produced in a casting method or a sintering process.

[0025] The semi-finished product (housing body) thus produced is subsequently inserted into an injection mold, in which a plasticized polymer is applied to its outer side.

[0026] The polymer at least partially surrounds the housing body. Here, the polymer also penetrates into the openings and penetrates through these openings into the interior of the housing body. The outer side of the housing body is coated and enters the interior of the housing body through the openings. The polymer hardens and forms a plastic.

[0027] Preferably, the housing body and the contact elements arranged therein are inserted into an injection mold. Then, in the above-mentioned injection molding process, an insulating body surrounding or encapsulating the electrical contact elements can be formed. Thus, the injection molding coating and the insulating body are manufactured in one injection molding cycle.

[0028] This method allows plug connectors, in particular electromagnetically shielded plug connectors, to be manufactured very quickly and in a small number of process steps. The basis for this is the use of an open-porous material that forms the base body. This material can be penetrated by liquid media or viscous media, such as plasticized plastics. The pore distribution of this material also ensures improved EMC shielding compared to corresponding non-porous materials.

[0029] Alternatively, an insulator for the contact element can be inserted into an injection mold. The insulator is then arranged inside the housing body. During the injection molding process, the insulator can be at least partially coated with plastic material and / or welded to the plastic material. Preferably, the contact element is then already arranged in the insulator.

[0030] The contact elements are preferably already electrically connected to the conductors of the multicore cable. In this case, a prefabricated plug connector with a connecting cable is produced after the injection molding process.

[0031] In this case, a suitable cable strain relief can also be injection-molded directly onto the housing body and the cable or the cable sheath at the cable outlet in an injection-molding process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] An embodiment of the present invention is shown in the drawings and is described in more detail below. They show:

[0033] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a base body of a plug connector housing according to the invention, Figure 2 is a perspective view of a base body with a fixing sleeve arranged on the plug-in side, Figure 3 is a perspective view of a plug connector equipped with a plug connector housing according to the invention, Figure 4 is another perspective view of a plug connector equipped with a plug connector housing according to the invention, and Figure 5 is a perspective sectional view of a plug connector housing according to the invention.

[0034] The drawings contain simplified schematic diagrams in part. In part, the same reference numerals are used for identical but possibly non-identical elements. Different views of the same element may be scaled differently. Directional descriptions such as "left", "right", "upper" and "lower" should be understood in conjunction with the corresponding drawings and may vary relative to the objects shown in the various representations. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] FIG. 1 shows an open housing body 1, which is made of an electrically conductive material, in particular a metal material. In the present patent application, an open hole is understood to mean that the housing wall of the housing body has a cavity (also referred to as a tube or channel), which connects an opening outside the housing body with an opening inside the housing body. Here, the opening and the associated cavity must be designed so that the liquefied plastic used for the injection molding process can enter the interior of the housing body through the outer opening and through the cavity.

[0036] The housing body 1 is made of a conductive material, such as metal. For example, a foamed metal material may be used.

[0037] The housing body 1 has essentially the shape of a hollow cylinder, the diameter of which tapers on the cable connection side. On the plug side, the housing body 1 has a circumferential groove 3 .

[0038] In the embodiment shown here, the locking sleeve 2 is locked thereon. The locking sleeve 2 can be pulled forward and backward along the main axis of symmetry of the housing body 1, so that a so-called push-pull locking with a mating plug connector (not shown) can be established. The locking sleeve 2 can also be designed as a so-called knurled screw and establish a corresponding threaded connection with a mating plug connector or socket.

[0039] The housing body 1 is placed in an injection mold (not shown). In the injection molding process, thermoplastics are usually used. These plastics are liquefied by heating and solidify again when cooled. In this case, parts of the housing body 1 are coated with liquefied plastic. In this case, the housing body 1 is also penetrated by the non-conductive plastic material 4.

[0040] FIG. 3 shows a plug connector housing according to the invention in perspective. In this illustration, the line of sight is directed to the cable connection side of the plug connector housing 10. The plastic material 4 forms a plastic sheath 5 here, by which the housing body 1 is partially covered. The plastic sheath 5 thus essentially constitutes the plug connector housing sheath. In addition, the plastic material 4 forms a strain relief 6 for a connected cable (not shown) at the cable outlet. Here, the cable is placed in an injection mold together with the plastic material and is surrounded or encapsulated by the plastic material. Here, the cable sheath of the cable is melted slightly if necessary and fuses with the injected plastic material 4.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a plug connector 11 with a plug connector housing 10. In this view, the view is directed toward the plug surface of the plug connector 11. The plug connector 11 is equipped with an insulating body 8, in which contact elements (not shown for illustration purposes) are arranged. The contact elements are electrically connected to the individual electrical conductors (not shown) of the multi-core cable 7.

[0042] The insulating body 8 is welded to the plastic material 4 of the plug connector housing 10. During the injection molding process, the plastic material of the insulating body melts slightly on the surface, so that the plastic material 4 can enter into a so-called interlocking weld. Alternatively, the insulating body 8 can simply be completely encased by the plastic material 4. In another alternative variant, the insulating body 8 is formed from the plastic material 4.

[0043] FIG. 5 shows a cutaway portion of a plug connector housing 10 in perspective. It can be seen here that the openness of the plug connector housing 10 is formed by a plurality of holes 9 in the housing body 1. The holes 9 have a cavity (tube or channel) which has an opening both on the outside and on the inside of the housing body 1. Thus, in the above-mentioned injection molding process, liquid plastic material acting on the outside of the housing body 1 can enter the interior of the housing body 1. The connected cable 7 can be welded to the plastic material 4 or covered by the plastic material 4 in a manner similar to an insulator.

[0044] Reference numerals list 1 Shell body 2 Locking sleeve 3 surrounding grooves 4 Plastic materials 5 Shell jacket 6 Stress relief device 7 Cables 8 Insulator 9 holes 10 Plug connector housing 11 Plug connector

Claims

1. A plug connector housing (10) formed by an at least partially perforated, electrically conductive housing body (1) which is at least partially permeated by a non-conductive plastic material (4).

2. The plug connector housing (10) according to claim 1, characterized in that The housing body (1) is at least partially covered by the plastic material (4) on the outside and / or the housing body (1) is at least partially covered by the plastic material (4) on the inside.

3. The plug connector housing (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The housing body (10) is formed of open-pore metal foam or sintered material.

4. The plug connector housing (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The open porosity is formed by a plurality of holes (9) in the housing body (1), wherein the plurality of holes (9) have cavities, and the cavities have openings both on the outside and on the inside of the housing body (1).

5. The plug connector housing (10) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that The cavity is filled with plastic material (4).

6. A plug connector (11) consisting of a plug connector housing (10) according to any one of the preceding claims and an insulating body (8), the insulating body being welded to the plastic material (4) or being completely encapsulated by the plastic material (4) or being formed by the plastic material (4).

7. A method for producing a plug connector (11), wherein: A perforated metal housing body (1) is inserted into an injection mold, wherein during the injection molding process the housing body (1) is at least partially enveloped on the outside by a plastic material (4), wherein the plastic material (4) also penetrates into the openings and interior of the housing body (1).

8. Method for producing a plug connector (11), characterized in that The housing body (1) is produced by a casting method or a sintering process.

9. The method according to any one of the two preceding claims, characterized in that A contact element is inserted into the injection mold, wherein the contact element is arranged inside the housing body (1), or an insulator for the contact element is inserted into the injection mold.

10. The method according to the preceding claim, characterized in that In the injection molding process, the insulating body including the electrical contact element is formed, or in the injection molding process the insulating body is at least partially enveloped by the plastic material (4) and / or is welded to the plastic material.

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