Circular plug connector with locking system

Abstract

The aim of the invention is to provide a circular plug connector system having a particularly stable screwing and push-and-pull latching combination even when the mating plug (2) is embedded in the device housing wall as a built-in socket, the invention proposes that on the circular plug connector (1), the mating plug (2) is inserted into the device housing wall as a built-in socket, and that the mating plug (2) is inserted into the device housing wall as a built-in socket. An outward latching hook (13, 513) is arranged between the plug region (14, 74) and a contact carrier section (10) of the insulating body (100) or a base section (70) of the circular plug connector housing (700). The mating plug (2) has an inward circumferential or discontinuous latching lug (22) on the plug-in side of the threaded section (23) thereof. In this way, the latching arms (13, 513) do not need to pass through the threaded section (23). Thus, the latching arms (13, 513) can be designed to be particularly robust and the internal thread can be designed to be continuous (unsegmented). The retaining force of the locking / screwing is thereby extremely high, and the latching arm (13) can be formed on and integrally formed with a plastic insulator (100), for example, in order to simplify the production. According to the invention, the operation and manufacturing are greatly simplified.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of patent application 201980081460.2 filed on December 3, 2019. Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a circular plug connector according to the preamble of independent claim 1.

[0003] The present invention further relates to a mating plug according to the preamble of independent claim 14.

[0004] The present invention also relates to a system composed of the circular plug connector according to claim 1 and the mating plug according to claim 14.

[0005] The present invention additionally relates to an alternative circular plug connector according to the preamble of independent claim 16.

[0006] The present invention further relates to a system composed of the alternative circular plug connector according to claim 16 and the mating plug according to claim 14.

[0007] This circular plug connector and the associated mating plug need to be plugged into each other for current and / or signal transmission, and need to be stably screwed together and / or locked to each other in other ways to ensure a firm plug-in. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the mating plug is also classified as a circular plug due to its screwing ability and plugging compatibility with the circular plug connector. However, in this text, for better distinction, it is only referred to as a "mating plug". Background Art

[0008] In the prior art, patent document DE 10 2015 015 202 B4 discloses a plug connector and a corresponding plugging system having a segmented thread and a push-pull locking mechanism. This document discloses that the thread is designed such that at least one locking mechanism of the complementary plugging member can be introduced into at least one threadless section of the plug connector.

[0009] A large number of tests and simulations show that the thread holding force in this configuration is insufficient for many applications. In addition, the grooves in the threadless sections are complex to manufacture and accordingly costly. Additionally, in many cases, an undesirably high unlocking force is generated during the unlocking process. The coding difficulty for the mating plug becomes greater, which requires very precise manufacturing, thus resulting in an undesired increase in cost. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The object of the present invention is to improve the holding force of this plug connector.

[0011] The solution of the present invention for achieving the above object is the feature of the independent claim.

[0012] A circular plug connector includes an insulator having a contact carrier section and a hollow cylindrical plugging area. On the outer side of the contact carrier section, there are latch arms that can move radially, which are attached thereto. The locking arms are especially elastically held thereon.

[0013] The latch arms have radially outwardly directed locking hooks at their free ends for locking in a mating plug. Adjacent to the locking hooks, the latch arms have outwardly directed engagement slopes (Angriffsschräge).

[0014] In addition, the circular plug connector has an unlocking sleeve that surrounds the contact carrier section. In order to interact with the engagement slope to unlock the circular plug connector from the mating plug, the unlocking sleeve is held on the insulator in a manner that can be displaced in the plugging direction. The hollow cylindrical plugging area can especially be formed on the contact carrier section on the plugging side.

[0015] According to the present invention, the locking hooks are arranged on the insulator in the vicinity of the transition region from the plugging area to the contact carrier section.

[0016] The advantageous technical solutions of the present invention are referred to the dependent claims.

[0017] The contact carrier section of the circular plug connector is generally used to hold the plug contacts on its cable connection area. The hollow cylindrical plugging area of the contact carrier section, into which the plugging areas of the plug contacts generally extend, is used for connecting to a mating plug on the plugging side.

[0018] A particularly great additional advantage of the present invention is that the manufacturing can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Finally, in the prior art, it is very complicated to introduce grooves in the threadless area of the internal thread in the mating plug so that the latch arms can be inserted through. According to the present invention, this is not necessary. Related thereto, the coding with respect to the mating plug can also be simplified, which is beneficial to simplifying the manufacturing and thus reducing the cost.

[0019] The special advantage of this circular plug connector lies in the fact that its locking pins are radially outward, i.e., away from each other. The mating plug housing can be designed as an in-built housing (einbaugehäuse) and, for example, can be built in flush into the side part of an electrical device. Such a flush in-built is very common in many application cases and is sometimes required by customers for compatibility reasons. The locking pins of the circular plug connector can be locked to the inward locking lugs (Rastnase), which are circumferential or interrupted, on the mating side of the mating plug housing from the inside. In this way, the mating plug can have a continuous (i.e., unsegmented) internal thread, which is used to enhance the stability and reliability of this screwed connection. At the same time, however, the circular plug connector can also selectively achieve the above locking (so-called "push-pull" locking). Since the locking hooks are arranged on the insulator near the transition area from the plugging area to the contact carrier section and do not have to pass through the internal thread of the mating plug during the plugging process, the locking hooks can be advantageously designed to be particularly short and / or particularly strong, and alternatively or additionally, there can be a large number of them.

[0020] Another additional advantage of the present invention is that, despite this general combination of threaded locking connection, seals, such as sealing rings, especially O-rings or injection-molded formed seals, can still have a radial sealing effect, i.e., they are radially compressed during the plugging process, rather than necessarily being compressed in the plugging direction as known in the prior art, and thus can seal the plugging system particularly well.

[0021] This means that in particular only one seal is required, for example only one sealing ring, which shows significant structural advantages compared with the prior art for this type of seal. The seal can be arranged at the circular plug connector, especially at its plugging area, preferably at one end of the contact carrier section of the hollow cylindrical plugging area on the side of the mating plug. Preferably, the insulator can have a groove for fastening the sealing ring here.

[0022] Another advantage is that, due to the high holding force of this configuration, in a certain advantageous technical solution, the hardness / stability of the material can be slightly lower, which has a positive impact on manufacturing technology, tolerances, and manufacturing costs.

[0023] The locking arm can be integrally formed with the insulator and molded on the outside of the contact carrier section. This can simplify the mechanical manufacturing in the injection molding process. The insulator can especially be formed of plastic. Then, in addition to its shape, the elasticity of the locking arm can be adjusted by the plastic composition.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the insulator can be made entirely or only partially, i.e. at least in the connecting section, of an elastic plastic, to which the latching arms are attached in the connecting section to the contact carrier section. This ensures in a particularly advantageous manner the necessary movable connection, in this case an elastic connection, between the latching arms and the contact carrier section. This design advantageously allows automated manufacturing with only little effort. Furthermore, the principle is followed that the plug connector should consist as much as possible of plastic / plastic parts, which is especially used to simplify the automated manufacturing process and save costs.

[0025] For this purpose, the elastic plastic can be a thermoplastic or a thermosetting plastic or an elastomer.

[0026] The internal thread of the mating plug is designed to be continuous, i.e. not segmented, and thus has a high holding force. The latching arms can be designed to be shorter and thus more robust, since they only form short rods. Furthermore, the number of latching arms is not limited as follows: if they have to engage into a predetermined number of threadless areas of the mating plug, the number is usually naturally limited to at most three or four.

[0027] Alternatively, however, the latching arms can also be part of a separate latching device. Then, undoubtedly, the elasticity of the latching arms can be adjusted separately from the elasticity of the insulator by the material and / or shape of the latching arms. For example, the latching arms can be formed from a metal sheet, especially an elastic metal sheet, such as a stainless steel sheet. This has the advantage of a dual function, since they can then also have a shielding function at the same time. The latching arms can in particular be designed as bent parts, thus enabling ergonomic manufacturing.

[0028] As described above, the circular plug connector can have a radially acting seal.

[0029] The plugging area can have a circumferential groove at one end on the side of its contact carrier section for fixing the seal to the insulator.

[0030] The seal can be an O-ring or a molded seal injection-molded onto the insulator.

[0031] The mating plug has a mating plug housing, which has a threaded section with an internal thread. The mating plug housing is molded on the inside with circumferential or intermittent latching lugs. The latching lugs are molded onto the mating plug housing on the plugging side of the internal thread. The latching lugs are in particular arranged at one end of the mating plug housing on the plugging side.

[0032] In the plugged state, the plugging area of the circular plug connector can be inserted into the threaded section of the mating plug, while the latching hooks of the circular plug connector lock to the plugging-side latching lugs of the mating plug.

[0033] In an alternative embodiment, an alternative circular plug connector includes a circular plug connector housing having a base section, to the outside of which a separate locking device surrounding the base section is attached. The locking device has a radially movable locking arm, which has a radially outwardly directed locking hook at its free end for locking into a mating plug. Adjacent to the locking hook, the locking arm has an outwardly directed engagement ramp.

[0034] Furthermore, the alternative circular plug connector has the aforementioned or an alternative but equivalent unlocking sleeve, which surrounds the contact carrier section. The unlocking sleeve is held on the circular plug connector housing in a displaceable manner in the plugging direction to interact with the engagement ramp of the locking arm to unlock the alternative circular plug connector from the mating plug. The circular plug connector housing also has a hollow cylindrical housing plugging area formed on the base section on the plugging side.

[0035] According to the invention, in such a configuration, the locking hook is arranged on the circular plug connector housing in the region of the transition from the housing plugging area to the base section.

[0036] The separate locking device can be formed from a spring-elastic material, in particular a spring-elastic metal sheet, such as a stainless steel sheet. It can in particular be a stamped and bent part.

[0037] The circular plug connector housing can be made of a particularly hard material, for example a zinc alloy in a zinc die-casting process.

[0038] The alternative circular plug connector can have a radially acting seal.

[0039] The housing plugging area can have a surrounding groove for fixing the seal at one end on the side of its contact carrier section.

[0040] The seal can be an O-ring.

[0041] The advantages described above for the circular plug connector also apply to the alternative circular plug connector.

[0042] In the plugged state, the housing plugging area of the alternative circular plug connector can be inserted into the threaded section of the mating plug, while the locking hook of the alternative circular plug connector is locked to the plugging-side locking lug of the mating plug. In this way, the locking arm does not have to pass through the internal thread and can be designed more robustly, and the internal thread does not have to be segmented. This improves the locking force and retention force of the screw connection. Description of the Drawings

[0043] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings: Figure 1a A transverse cross-sectional view of a circular plug connector plugged with a mating plug is shown; Figure 1b shows an enlarged view of the latch system shown in the previous figure; Figure 1c An exploded view of a circular plug connector is shown; Figure 1d An insulator of a circular plug connector is shown; Figure 2a An alternative insulating body for a round plug connector with a separate latching device is shown; Figure 2b The individual latching devices are shown in the punched-out but unbent state. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] These drawings contain partially simplified schematic diagrams. To the extent possible, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements, but may also be used for different elements. Different views of the same element may be scaled to different proportions.

[0045] Figure 1a and Figure 1b The system consisting of a circular plug connector 1 and a mating plug 2 is shown in a transverse section. The circular plug connector 1 is plugged into the mating plug 2 and locked thereto. Figure 1b Show Figure 1a Magnified view of the circled portion of the image.

[0046] The circular plug connector 1 has a cable connector 6 shown on the right side of the figure, which is screwed onto a cable connector thread 16 of an insulating body 100 of the circular plug connector 1 to introduce, fix and seal an inserted cable.

[0047] The cable connection thread 16 adjoins the contact carrier section 10. The latter has a through-hole 15 for accommodating a plug-in contact 17, one of which is shown in the drawing as an example, continuously, while the other is shown only partially, so that the contact carrier hole 15 is exposed. The plug-in contact 17 thus held in the contact carrier section 10 extends on the plug-in side into the hollow cylindrical plug-in region 14, which is also part of the insulating body and adjoins the contact carrier section 10.

[0048] On the outer side of the contact support section 10, a plurality of locking arms 13 are formed. These locking arms 13 are held on the insulator 100 in a radially movable manner, that is, in an elastically deformable manner. For the two locking arms 13 shown in this figure, this means that they can move up and down in the drawing, that is, they are elastic, that is, they deflect relative to the contact support section 10 by applying a restoring force corresponding to their deflection. In this embodiment, the locking arms 13 are integrally formed with the insulator 100, for example, by injection molding, that is, they are formed on its contact support section 10 via a connecting section 18, where the entire insulator 100 is made of plastic. In order to ensure the radial movement of the locking arms 13, in principle, it is only necessary for this connecting section 18 to be made of an elastic plastic, such as a thermoplastic. However, in this embodiment, the entire insulator 100 is made of a uniform material, that is, a thermoplastic material, so that it can be manufactured by a simple injection molding process. In addition, in this embodiment, four locking arms 13 are provided, but it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that any other number can also be envisaged.

[0049] The locking arms 13 have radially outward locking hooks 12 at their free ends for locking onto the mating plug 2. Adjacent to the locking hooks, the locking arms each have an outward engaging slope 12, and its function is explained by the interaction with the unlocking sleeve 3 (more precisely, its unlocking slope 31) surrounding the contact support section 10.

[0050] If the unlocking sleeve 3 is manually pulled in the unlocking direction, that is, from the mating plug from left to right in the figure, the unlocking slope 31 of the unlocking sleeve presses inward, that is, towards each other in the figure, onto the engaging slopes 11 of the two locking arms 13. The locking arms 13 can in particular, due to their elasticity and the associated restoring force, move the unlocking sleeve 3 back to its locked position in this way, that is, onto the mating plug 2.

[0051] By manually pulling the unlocking sleeve in the unlocking direction, the locking hooks 12 are unlocked from the surrounding locking lugs 22 of the mating plug 2 ( Figure 1b the locking hook 12 can be clearly seen therein), and the locking lugs 22 are formed inward on the mating plug 2 on the insertion side, that is, on its mating plug housing 21. Here, the locking hooks 12 extend into the substantially cylindrical insertion opening of the mating plug 2 (not shown in detail for clarity).

[0052] In addition, in this figure, the seal is designed as a molded seal 4' injection molded on the insertion area 14.

[0053] In the region of the insertion opening, the mating plug housing 21 has a threaded section 23 with a continuous (i.e., non-segmented) internal thread. The surrounding locking lug 22 is arranged on the insertion side (the right side in the drawing) of the threaded section 23. The locking hook 12 of the plug connector 1 is arranged on the insulator 100 in the vicinity of the transition region from the insertion region 14 to the contact carrier section 10. In the inserted state, the insertion region 14 of the circular plug connector 1 is inserted into the threaded section 23 of the mating plug 2, and at the same time the locking hook 12 of the circular plug connector 1 is locked to the insertion-side locking lug 22 of the mating plug 2.

[0054] Figure 1c The exploded view of the circular plug connector is shown. It can be clearly seen that the insertion region 14 has a hollow cylindrical shape and has a groove 140 on the contact carrier side for fixing the sealing ring 4. In addition, it is easy to imagine that the circular plug connector 100 has four locking arms 13, but only three are visible in this drawing because the fourth one is covered by the insulator 100.

[0055] It can also be clearly seen the substantially hollow cylindrical basic shape of the unlocking sleeve 3.

[0056] In this drawing, the seal is designed as a sealing ring 4. It is fixed in the groove 140 which is arranged on the insertion region 14 on the contact carrier section side.

[0057] Figure 1d The three-dimensional view of the insulator 100, which is also magnified, is shown. Here, one locking arm 13 with its locking hook 12 and its engagement bevel 11 are marked with reference numerals to represent the other locking arms. The radially outward locking hook 12 is arranged on the insulator 100 in the vicinity of the transition region from the insertion region 14 to the contact carrier section 10.

[0058] Figure 2a Another embodiment of the present invention is shown. Instead of the circular plug connector, there is a circular plug connector housing 700 which is made of a harder material, such as die-cast zinc. A separate contact carrier (not shown) for receiving and holding the plug contact 17 is inserted into the circular plug connector housing 700.

[0059] The circular plug connector housing 700 has a base section 70, to which a separate locking device 5 is attached. The separate locking device surrounds the base section 70 and is fixed thereto by a first retaining tab 51 and a second retaining tab 52. The separate locking device has a locking arm 513 with a locking pin and an engagement bevel 512, which is similar to the locking arm 13 described above and interacts with the unlocking sleeve 3 or an unlocking sleeve (not shown) specifically adapted to this configuration.

[0060] Furthermore, the circular plug connector housing 700 has a housing plugging region 74 which has a housing groove 740 adjacent to the base section 70, i.e., arranged thereon on the base section side, for receiving a seal in the form of a sealing ring 4.

[0061] The resilient latching arm 513 is part of a separate latching device. In Figure 2b a further embodiment, the latching arm is designed separately as a bent part. It can clearly be seen that it can be stamped from a spring-elastic metal sheet, placed around the base section, fixed to the base section by means of its retaining tabs 51, 52, and closed by means of its dovetail connection (not shown in detail).

[0062] In this composite structure, the plug connector housing 700 can be designed to be particularly rigid and stable. At the same time, the necessary resilience of the latching arm 513 is determined by the material of a separate latching device, such as a spring plate.

[0063] Although the various aspects or features of the present invention are shown in combination in the figures, those skilled in the art will clearly understand that the illustrated and discussed combinations are not the only feasible combinations, unless otherwise stated. In particular, the corresponding units or features as a whole in different embodiments can be interchanged. In particular, it is conceivable that an insulator made of plastic (not shown in the figures) is provided with the said separate latching device 5.

[0064] List of reference numerals 1 Circular plug connector 10 Contact support section 100 Insulator 11 Latching hook 12 Engaging bevel 13 Latching arm 14 Plugging region 140 Groove 15 Through hole 16 Cable joint thread 17 Plug contact 18 Connection section 2 Mating plug 21 Mating plug housing 22 Latching lug 23 Thread section 3 Unlocking sleeve 31 Unlocking bevel 4, 4' Seal (O-ring / injection-molded formed seal) 5 Separate latching device 511 Latching hook 512 Engaging bevel 513 Latching arm 514 Plug-in area 51, 52 First retaining tab, second retaining tab 6 Cable connector 7 Alternative round plug connector 700 Round plug connector housing 70 Base section 74 Housing plug-in area 740 Housing groove

Claims

1. A circular plug connector (1) comprising an insulator (100) having a contact carrier section (10) and a hollow cylindrical plugging area (14), wherein, On the outer side of the contact support section (10), a radially movable locking arm (13, 513) is attached, and the free end of the locking arm (13, 513) points in the direction of the plugging area (14). Wherein, the locking arm (13, 513) has a radially outwardly facing locking hook (12, 512) at its free end for locking in the mating plug (2), and adjacent to the locking hook there is an outer engaging inclined surface (11, 511). Wherein, the circular plug connector (1) further has an unlocking sleeve (3), the unlocking sleeve (3) surrounds the contact support section (10), and is held on the insulator (100) in a displaceable manner along the plugging direction to interact with the engaging inclined surface (11, 511) to unlock the circular plug connector (1) from the mating plug (2). It is characterized in that the locking hooks (12, 512) are arranged on the insulator (100) near the transition area from the plugging area (14) to the contact support section (10).

2. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The locking arm (13) is integrally formed with the insulator (100) and is formed on the outer side of the contact support section (10).

3. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that, The insulator (100) is at least partially, i.e., at least in the connecting section (18), made of an elastic plastic. The locking arm (13) is formed on the contact support section (10) via the connecting section (18) to ensure a movable connection between the locking arm (13) and the contact support section (10).

4. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 3, wherein, The elastic plastic is a thermoplastic or a thermosetting plastic or an elastomer.

5. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that, The locking arm (513) is a part of a separate locking device (5), and the locking device (5) is fastened to the contact support section (10).

6. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that, The separate locking device (5) is formed by an elastic metal plate.

7. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that, The separate locking device (5) is a stamping and bending part.

8. The circular plug connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The circular plug connector (1) has a radially acting seal (4, 4').

9. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that, One end of the plugging area (14) on the side of the contact support section has a surrounding groove (140) for fixing the seal (4).

10. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that, The seal is an O-ring (4).

11. The circular plug connector (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that, The seal is an injection-molded formed seal (4').

12. The circular plug connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The entire insulator (100) is formed of plastic.

13. The circular plug connector according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that, The locking arm (13) is held on the insulator (100) in a spring-elastic manner.

14. A mating plug (2), comprising a mating plug housing (21), the mating plug housing (21) having a threaded section (23) with an internal thread and an inwardly facing surrounding or intermittent locking lug (22) formed on the mating plug housing (24) on the plugging side of the threaded section (23) for locking with the locking arms (13, 513) of the circular plug connector (1) according to any one of the preceding claims.

15. A system comprising a circular plug connector (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 13 and a mating plug (2) according to claim 14, characterized in that, In the plugged state, the plugging area (10) of the circular plug connector (1) is inserted into the threaded section (23) of the mating plug (2), and at the same time, the latching hook (12) of the circular plug connector (1) is locked to the plugging-side latching lug (22) of the mating plug (2).

16. An alternative circular plug connector (7) comprising a circular plug connector housing (700) having a base section (70), to the outside of which base section (70) a separate latching device (5) surrounding the base section (70) is attached, said latching device (5) having a radially movable latching arm (513), wherein, The latching arm (513) has a radially outward latching hook (512) at its free end for latching in the mating plug (2), and adjacent to the latching hook, has an outward engaging slope (511). The alternative circular plug connector (7) further has an unlocking sleeve (3) that surrounds the contact carrier section (10) and is held on the circular plug connector housing (700) so as to be displaceable in the plugging direction to interact with the engaging slope (511) to unlock the alternative circular plug connector (7) from the mating plug (2). The circular plug connector housing (700) further has a hollow cylindrical housing plugging area (74) formed on the base section (70) on the plugging side. It is characterized in that the latching hook (512) is arranged on the circular plug connector housing (700) near the transition area from the housing plugging area (74) to the base section (70).

17. The alternative circular plug connector (7) according to claim 16, characterized in that, The separate latching device (5) is formed of a metal plate.

18. The alternative circular plug connector (7) according to claim 17, characterized in that, The separate latching device (5) is a stamping and bending part.

19. The alternative circular plug connector (7) according to any one of claims 16 to 18, characterized in that The alternative circular plug connector (7) has a radially acting seal (4).

20. The alternative circular plug connector (7) according to claim 19, characterized in that, The housing plugging area (74) has a surrounding groove (740) at one end on the contact carrier section side for fixing the seal (4).

21. The alternative circular plug connector (7) according to any one of claims 19 to 20, characterized in that, The seal is an O-ring (4) ("O-ring").

22. A system consisting of an alternative circular plug connector (7) according to any one of claims 16 to 21 and a mating plug (2) according to claim 14, characterized in that, In the plugged state, the housing plugging area (70) of the circular plug connector (7) is inserted into the threaded section (23) of the mating plug (2), and at the same time, the latching hook (512) of the circular plug connector (7) is locked to the plugging-side latching lug (22) of the mating plug (2).

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