Angled connector, electrical connector for such an angled connector, and electrically heated windscreen wiper with such an angled connector

Abstract

Angle connector (1) with a plug (6) pluggable along a first plugging direction (10) and a mating plug (8) pluggable along a second plugging direction (12) which is inclined or perpendicular to the first plugging direction (10), and a guide housing (50) which is formed with a first receptacle (52) for the plug (6) and a second receptacle (54) for the mating plug (8), wherein the first receptacle (52) extends along the first plugging direction (10) and the second receptacle (54) extends along the second plugging direction (12), wherein the second receptacle (54) opens into the first receptacle (52), wherein the plug (8) is inserted into the first receptacle (52) and the mating plug (8) into the second receptacle (54), and wherein the plug (6) is connected to the mating plug (8) via a cam guide (14).

Description

The present invention relates to angle plug connections and electrical plugs for angle plug connections, in particular for use in automotive applications, for example in electrically heated windscreen wiper systems.In modern technology, in a large number of applications, detachable plug connections are required for data transmission or for the transmission of electrical currents and / or liquid media, for example also in automotive engineering in windscreen wiper systems. In this case, washing liquids are used as liquid media, which are distributed over windscreen wiper blades and thus assist the cleaning action of the windscreen wiper system. In order to ensure the operation of the windscreen wiper system even in the case of frost and icy wind, electrical heating elements are installed in the windscreen wiper blades, which heating elements prevent the washing liquid from freezing by means of the supply of electrical energy. Further, the heating elements can easily remove snow and ice from the windshield when needed.In the development of such plug connections, the requirements of the system providers to provide ever more compact, lighter and more cost-effective end products are a challenge. Often, demanding requirements are imposed with regard to installation space, plug-in direction and accessibility of the individual components of the plug-in connection. Moreover, there may be severe constraints which require easy and quick handling of the plug connection.DE 601 24 733 T2 relates to a connection arrangement with a base connector and a socket connector. The base connector includes a base housing having a plurality of contacts and is mounted on a mounting surface. The receptacle connector includes a receptacle housing that also receives a plurality of contacts. The base connector and the socket connector each have a cam surface, the cam surfaces fitting each other and serving to convert a draw-out force. JP H06-163 107 A describes a first connector and a second connector which are designed to be complementary to one another. A pin of the first connector moves along an elongated hole of a lead frame, thereby freely slidably holding the first connector. The pin is also guided in a guide groove of the second connector.The present invention is based on the problem of generally improving the flexibility and applicability of plug connections.This problem is solved by an angular plug connection with a plug which can be plugged in along a first plug-in direction and a counterplug which can be plugged in along a second plug-in direction which runs obliquely or perpendicularly to the first plug-in direction, wherein the plug is connected to the counterplug via a slotted guide. In particular, the first plugging direction and the second plugging direction can be represented by two linearly independent, two-dimensional vectors. Specifically, the first plug-in direction and the second plug-in direction can run at an angle of 90° + / - 45° to one another.The present invention thus enables the realization of two different plug-in directions, which can be adapted to the respectively applicable spatial and directional specifications of the application. This contributes to an extended applicability of the angle plug connection according to the invention. Furthermore, a plug-in process between the plug and the mating plug can be supported by the slotted guide, resulting in improved and simplified handling of the angle plug connection according to the invention.The invention can be further improved by the following embodiments, which are each advantageous per se and can be combined with one another as desired.According to a first embodiment of the invention, the plug can have at least one slotted guide element and the mating plug can have at least one slotted guide element complementary to the slotted guide element of the plug. In particular, associated slide guide elements can respectively engage in one another, so that in this way the plug can be connected to the mating plug directly via the slide guide.Preferably, the plug can have at least one sliding block and the counterplug can have at least one sliding block with a sliding block path shaped complementarily to the at least one sliding block of the plug. The direction of the link guide is predefined by the direction of the link path.In detail, the sliding block can be designed, for example, as a rail-like, bolt-like or pin-like projection. The slide track can in turn be realized by a slot-like recess which, with regard to its shape, forms a counterpart to the slide block. In particular, the slotted guide track can be a rectilinear groove which runs at least at an acute angle to the first plug-in direction and / or to the second plug-in direction. In at least one cross section perpendicular to the course of the sliding block track, an inner contour of the sliding block track corresponds as far as possible to an outer contour of the sliding block. For example, the inner contour of the slide track and the outer contour of the slide block can each have a square, rectangular, triangular, semicircular or oval shape or can be configured as a combination of such geometric basic shapes. This results in a simple design for the slotted guide, which enables reliable force transmission.Of course, the at least one slotted link block can also be arranged on the counterplug, as a result of which the at least one slotted link with slotted link track is consequently to be arranged on the plug.The angle plug connection further comprises a guide housing which is formed with a first receptacle for the plug and a second receptacle for the mating plug, wherein the second receptacle opens into the first receptacle. The first receptacle extends as far as possible along the first plug-in direction and the second receptacle extends as far as possible along the second plug-in direction. In particular, the first receptacle can form a first socket which, in at least one cross section perpendicular to the first plug-in direction, has an inner contour which corresponds to an outer contour of the plug in a cross section of the plug perpendicular to the first plug-in direction. Analogously, the second receptacle can form a second socket which, in a cross section perpendicular to the second plug-in direction, has an inner contour which in turn corresponds to an outer contour of the mating plug in a cross section of the mating plug perpendicular to the second plug-in direction. Consequently, the plug and the mating plug can be inserted into the respective receptacles and plugged together inside the guide housing. The guide housing has a stabilizing effect on the plug-in process.For additional stabilization, at least one straight guide element can optionally be formed in each of the first receptacle and / or in the second receptacle for straight guidance of a complementary straight guide element of the plug or of the mating plug. The at least one straight guide element of the first receptacle or of the second receptacle can be configured by a rail-like, bolt-like or pin-like bulge on at least one inner surface of the first receptacle or of the second receptacle. The bulge can project into the first receptacle or into the second receptacle. Furthermore, the rail-like bulge can extend linearly along the first plug-in direction or along the second plug-in direction. The associated complementary straight guide element of the plug or of the mating plug can be a channel-like indentation, which is located on the plug or on the mating plug and engages around the indentation at least in sections. It is understood here that the bulge and indentation can also be arranged interchanged in each case.Optionally, before the plugging process, the plug or the mating plug can already be inserted into the relevant receptacle of the guide housing and brought into a pre-assembly position. The holding of the plug or the mating plug in the relevant receptacle can contribute to a shortening of the plugging process and thus simplify the final assembly process, i.e. the transfer of the plug and the mating plug into a final assembly position.To further improve the assembly process, the plug and / or the mating plug can each engage with the guide housing at least one latching connection. More precisely, at least one latching element for latching with a complementary latching element of the guide housing can be located on the plug and / or on the mating plug. For example, the plug and / or the mating plug can have at least one flexible spring arm with a latching nose or a latching hook. In the first receptacle or in the second receptacle, a corresponding latching groove or latching opening can be provided, in which the latching lug or the latching hook can engage.Preferably, the plug and / or the mating plug latches with the guide housing in two different, discrete positions. For example, in a pre-latching position, in which the plug or the mating plug is situated exactly in the pre-assembly position, and in an end latching position, in which the plug or the mating plug is situated exactly in the end-assembly position. For this purpose, two latching grooves or two latching openings can be provided in the first receptacle for the plug, which are arranged successively along the first plug-in directions. For the mating connector, two latching grooves or two latching openings can be provided in the second receptacle accordingly, which are arranged successively along the second plug-in direction.Between the plug and the mating plug, the connection is made via the slotted link guide as far as possible from reaching the pre-assembly position to reaching the final assembly position and also in all between positions of the plug and the mating plug. Thus, the slotted guide can have a supporting effect on the plug-in process until the final assembly position of the plug and the mating plug is reached.The latching in the pre-latching position (i.e. the pre-assembly position) and / or in the final latching position (i.e. the final assembly position) can optionally be reproduced by an acoustically perceptible clicking sound and / or a visual test. In particular, for this purpose, the respective latching groove or latching opening can connect an inner surface of the guide housing continuously to an outer surface of the guide housing, such that the engagement of the latching lug or of the latching hook is visible from the outside.According to a further embodiment of the invention, a movement of the plug along the first plug-in direction through the slotted guide can be coupled to a movement of the counter-support in the direction of the second plug-in direction. In particular, by means of the interlocking of the associated slide guide elements of plug and mating plug, a force can be transmitted via the slide guide during a movement of the plug along the first plug-in direction, said force containing at least one force component, the direction vector of which points along the second plug-in direction, so that a movement of the mating plug along the second plug-in direction results. This ensures that the plug can be plugged together with the mating plug even if either the plug or the mating plug is not directly accessible. In addition, the coupled movement also allows the plug-out process to be carried out when the plug or the mating plug is accessible on one side.In a further embodiment of the invention, at least one contact slot of the mating plug can be assigned to at least one blade-shaped contact of the plug, wherein the at least one blade-shaped contact is accommodated in the at least one contact slot such that it can be moved relative to the at least one contact slot in the direction along the slotted guide while being in contact with the at least one contact slot. The at least one contact slot can be formed by a fork-shaped contact of the mating plug. Thus, a reliable, preferably both-sided, electrical contacting is achieved with the simplest possible construction at the same time. Furthermore, this embodiment is distinguished by low material and production costs, since conventional stamped and bent parts can be used for the respective contacts.The movement of the plug and the mating plug coupled via the slotted guide can be used, in particular, to introduce the at least one blade-shaped contact of the plug into the at least one contact slot of the mating plug in order to generate an electrical connection, wherein only either the plug or the mating plug has to be actively moved into the final assembly position. The respective other (i.e. counterplug or plug) is moved into the final assembly position by the mechanical action of the slide guide.The arrangement of the blade-shaped and fork-shaped contacts can also be exchanged depending on the application. The number of blade-shaped and fork-shaped contacts can be adapted to the number of poles required in each case for the application. In the case of high numbers of poles, a plug-in aid, for example in the form of a lever, can be provided in order to be able to apply the plug-in forces which increase in proportion to the number of poles.In applications which require a tightness of the angle plug connection, corresponding seals can optionally be provided in the intermediate spaces between the plug and the first receptacle or between the mating plug and the second receptacle. This enables in particular the use of the angle plug connection according to the invention in an electrically heated windscreen wiper.The problem underlying at the outset can furthermore be solved by an electrical plug for an angle plug connection according to the preceding embodiments, wherein at least one sliding guide element of the sliding guide for forcibly guiding a complementary sliding guide element of the mating plug of the angle plug connection is located on a plug housing of the electrical plug, wherein the at least one sliding guide element of the electrical plug is configured as a rail-like projection which extends on an inner surface of the plug housing or as a slot-like cut-outs on an outer surface of the plug housing.The electrical connector according to the invention is advantageous since it can be attached to an electrical module or assembly to be connected. For example, the electrical connector according to the invention can be attached to a windscreen wiper arm and / or a windscreen wiper blade, preferably an electrically heated windscreen wiper system. Due to the already mentioned advantages, a replacement process of the windscreen wiper blade can be configured in a simple manner.The at least one sliding guide element of the electrical plug is preferably formed on an outwardly facing surface, in particular an outer surface or on an inwardly facing surface, in particular an inner surface of the plug housing. In this case, the plug housing can be a contact carrier. The contact carrier can hold at least one electrically conductive contact element, having a contact surface for contacting a complementary mating contact.The at least one contact element can in turn be crimped, soldered, welded or fastened in the same way on an end facing away from the contact surface onto an electrical conductor of a cable. The cable can, for example, pass through the windscreen wiper arm and be connected to a power source. In the cable guide, it should be noted that the cable or the conductor has sufficient play to be damaged not in the course of the movement of the slotted guide.Alternatively, the at least one contact element can be connected to an electrical heating element at the end facing away from the contact surface, wherein the heating element is integrated in the windscreen wiper blade.According to one exemplary embodiment, the plug housing designed as a contact carrier can hold at least one contact element which is designed as a blade-shaped contact, blade-like contact, blade contact or comb contact having at least one insertion bevel, wherein the at least one insertion bevel runs on an edge of the contact element parallel to the first plug-in direction. Preferably, two lead-in slopes can together form one lead-in blade. The at least one insertion bevel or the insertion blade simplifies the insertion process, since the resistance during the insertion into the mating contact is lowered. In addition, less material abrasion is caused, which leads to an extension of the useful life of the at least one contact element.In an alternative embodiment, the plug housing designed as a contact carrier can hold at least one contact element which is designed as a fork-shaped contact or fork contact having at least two contact tongues. The at least two contact tabs may define a contact slot, the contact slot being parallel to the second mating direction. The contact tongues are preferably arranged mirror-symmetrically with respect to the contact slot. Two tips of the contact tongues which are opposite each other with respect to the contact slot are preferably pressed together in a spring-loaded manner. The contact tongues thus generate the necessary contacting force and correspondingly reduce the contact resistance.The at least one insertion bevel or the insertion cutting edge of the at least one blade-shaped contact can enter in a wedge-like manner between the tips of the contact tongues of the associated at least one fork-shaped contact and spread apart the contact tongues. In the spread-apart state of the contact studs, the tips of the contact studs rest on the contact surfaces of the at least one blade-shaped contact and electrically contact the latter at at least one contact point in each case. In the course of the plugging process between the plug and the mating plug, the number of contact points may increase.By the movement of the plug and the counter-support coupled via the slotted guide, a relative movement is preferably generated between the at least one blade-shaped contact and the associated at least one fork-shaped contact. Consequently, during the plugging process between the plug and the mating plug, a displacement of the at least one contact point in each case takes place on the contact surfaces of the blade-shaped contact. Due to the course of the slide track, the at least one contact point can be displaced at least in sections parallel to the course of the slide track. In the case of a link path with a curved course, the displacement of the at least one contact point in each case takes place via a correspondingly curved trajectory. Alternatively or additionally, the at least one contact point can also be displaced in sections parallel to the first plug-in direction and / or second plug-in direction.Optionally, the tips of the contact tongues can also have lead-in slopes.Preferably, in the plug housing designed as a contact carrier, the contact tongues are freely accessible or at least laterally accessible. This means that the contact tongues are in particular not surrounded on all sides by the plug housing. The lateral access is made possible, as far as possible, for each fork-shaped contact by a gap-shaped opening in the plug housing.In a further embodiment, the at least one contact element can extend in sections freely accessible or at least laterally accessible in a space surrounded at least partially by the plug housing, wherein the at least one sliding guide element is also located in the space. This allows a compact and space-saving construction of the electrical plug.To further improve the functionality of the electrical plug, at least two sliding block guide elements can be located on the plug housing. Preferably, a respective slotted guide element is provided on at least two mutually opposite surfaces of the controller housing. In particular, the said surfaces are situated opposite one another with respect to the at least one contact element. A symmetrical arrangement of the at least two slotted guide elements can thus be achieved, which also counteracts, inter alia, a wedging of the at least one contact element with the respective mating contact. The load on the guide elements involved, which load is compensated on both sides, also reduces the wear which occurs and consequently increases the useful life of the electrical plug.In a further embodiment, the plug housing can be surrounded in a circumferential direction perpendicular to the first or second plug-in direction by a sealing ring which serves to seal the intermediate space between plug housing and guide housing.For electrically heated windscreen wiper systems, the problem mentioned at the beginning can be solved by a windscreen wiper, wherein the windscreen wiper comprises a windscreen wiper arm and a windscreen wiper blade, having at least one integrated heating element, and wherein the windscreen wiper blade is detachably connected to the windscreen wiper arm at least via an angle plug connection according to the above embodiments. In particular, the angle plug connection can serve to supply the power to the heating element and, by means of the slotted guide, can facilitate the replacement process of the windscreen wiper blade, for example after a certain wear of the material.The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawings on the basis of a plurality of embodiments, the different features of which can be combined with one another as desired according to the above remarks.The following are shown: FIG. 1 shows a schematic perspective exploded illustration of an angle plug connection according to the invention according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 shows a schematic planar illustration of the angle plug connection according to the invention according to the first embodiment with mating plug in the pre-assembly position; FIG. 3 shows a schematic planar illustration of the angle plug connection according to the invention according to the first embodiment with plug and mating plug in the final assembly position; FIG. 4 shows a schematic sectional illustration of the angle plug connection according to the invention according to the first embodiment with plug and mating plug in the pre-assembly position; FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional illustration of the angle plug connection according to the invention according to the first embodiment with plug and mating plug in the final assembly position; FIG. 6 shows a schematic perspective illustration of an angle plug connection according to the invention according to a second embodiment; FIG. 7 shows a schematic sectional illustration of the angle plug connection according to the invention according to the second embodiment with plug and mating plug in the pre-assembly position; FIG. 8 shows a schematic sectional illustration of the angle plug connection according to the invention according to the second embodiment with plug and mating plug in the final assembly position; FIG. 9 shows a schematic illustration of an electrically heated windscreen wiper according to the invention according to a possible embodiment; and FIG. 10 shows an enlarged partial view of a sectional illustration of the angle plug connection according to the invention according to a third embodiment.First, the schematic configuration of an angle connector 1 and an electric connector 2 according to the present invention will be illustrated with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8 and FIG. 10. Next, the schematic configuration of an electrically heated wiper 4 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 9.The angle plug connection 1 according to the invention can comprise a plug 6 and a counterplug 8, wherein the plug 6 can be plugged into the angle plug connection 1 along a first plug-in direction 10 and the counterplug 8 can be plugged into the angle plug connection 1 along a second plug-in direction 12 running obliquely or perpendicular to the first plug-in direction 10. Furthermore, the plug 6 can be connected to the mating plug 8 via a slotted guide 14, as will be explained further below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.The electrical connector 2 according to the invention described in more detail below can be used as the connector 6 and / or mating connector 8 in different embodiments. To simplify the text intelligibility, only the distinction between plug 6 and mating plug 8 is made below, wherein the description also relates in each case to the electrical plug 2 according to the invention.As shown in FIG. 1, the plug 6 may include a plug housing 16 a. Correspondingly, the mating connector 8 can have a connector housing 16 b. The plug housings 16 a, 16 bmay be injection molded parts made of plastic, for example. Furthermore, the plug housings 16 a, 16 bmay serve as contact carriers 18 a, 18 b. The contact carriers 18 a, 18 bmay each hold at least one electrically conductive contact element 20 a, 20 bfor contacting a complementary mating contact 22 b, 22 a. For this purpose, the respective contact elements 20 a, 20 bmay have a contact surface 24 a, 24 band may be cast or inserted into the corresponding contact carrier 18 a, 18 b. For the purpose of accessibility of the respective contact surfaces 24 a, 24 b, the corresponding contact element 20 a, 20 bmay be only partially cast into the contact carrier 18 aand / or project into a recess of the contact carrier 18 b.In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the plug housing 16 aof the plug 6 designed as a contact carrier 18 acontains at least one blade-shaped contact 26, for example two blade-shaped contacts 26. For this purpose, the measuring contacts 26 are partly cast into the contact carrier 18 aand left accessible in sections laterally, in particular from a direction 30 perpendicular to the first plug-in direction 10. The accessible sections 32 of the blade-shaped contacts 26 are each formed with at least one insertion bevel 34, wherein the at least one insertion bevel 34 runs on an edge 36 of the respective blade-shaped contact 26 parallel to the first plug-in direction 10. The at least one insertion bevel 34 produces a deeper material thickness than in the remaining blade-shaped contact 26. More specifically, two points on the outer surface of the blade-shaped contact 26, which are opposite each other with respect to the first plug-in direction 10, each have a smaller spacing in the region of the insertion bevel 34 than outside the region of the insertion bevel 34.Preferably, two insertion slopes 34 can be formed on the respective blade-shaped contacts 26, which together form an insertion blade 38.In the embodiment shown, the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8, which plug housing is designed as a contact carrier 18 b, holds at least one fork-shaped contact 40, for example two fork-shaped contacts 40. The contact slot 44 runs parallel to the second plug-in direction 12. In this case, as many as possible two tips 46 of the contact tongues 42 lying opposite one another with respect to the contact slot 44 are pressed together in a resilient manner. Furthermore, the fork-shaped contacts 40 each project into gap-shaped openings 48 of the contact carrier 18 b,so that the corresponding contact slot 44 is accessible on both sides perpendicular to the second plug-in direction 12. This is illustrated in FIG. 2.The angle plug connection 1 can further comprise a guide housing 50 which is formed with a first receptacle 52 for the plug 6 and a second receptacle 54 for the mating plug 8, wherein the second receptacle 54 opens into the first receptacle 52. The course of the first receptacle 52 and of the second receptacle 54 is illustrated by way of example in FIG. 4. The first receptacle 52 extends in a straight line along the first plug-in direction 10 The second receptacle 54 extends in a corresponding straight line along the second plug-in direction 12 The guide housing 50 can likewise be a plastic injection-molded part and can be configured, for example, as a cage 56 in which the plug 6 or the mating plug 8 is arranged movably, in an captive manner.The first receptacle 52 can form a first socket 58, which has an inner contour 64 ain at least one cross section 62 aperpendicular to the first plug-in direction 10, which inner contour corresponds to an outer contour 66 aof the plug 6 in a cross section 68 aof the plug 6 perpendicular to the first plug-in direction 10. In an analogous manner, the second receptacle 54 can form a second socket 60 which, in a cross section 62 bperpendicular to the second plug-in direction 12, has an inner contour 64 bwhich in turn corresponds to an outer contour 66 bof the mating plug 8 in a cross section 68 bof the mating plug 8 perpendicular to the second plug-in direction 12. As shown in FIG. 5, the plug 6 and the mating plug 8 can be inserted into the respective receptacles 52, 54 designed as sockets 58, 60 and plugged together in the interior 70 of the guide housing 50.Optionally, in the first receptacle 52 and / or in the second receptacle 54, at least one straight guide element 72 can be formed in each case for straight guidance of a complementary straight guide element 74 of the plug 6 or of the mating plug 8.As shown in FIG. 7 for the plug 6, the at least one straight guide element 72 can be realized in the first receptacle 52 by a rail-like bulge 76 on at least one inner surface 78 a, preferably on two mutually opposite inner surfaces 78 aof the first receptacle 52. In particular, the at least one straight guide element 72 can project into the first receptacle 52. The associated complementary straight guide element 74 of the plug 6 can be a channel-like indentation 80 which is formed on at least one outer surface 82 a, preferably on two mutually opposite outer surfaces 82 aof the plug housing 16 aof the plug 6 and engages around the corresponding rail-like indentation 76 at least in sections.As shown in FIG. 1 for the mating plug 8, the rail-like bulge 76 can also be formed on at least one outer surface 82 b, preferably on two mutually opposite outer surfaces 82 b, of the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8. Correspondingly, the channel-like indentation 80 is formed on at least one inner surface 78 b, preferably on two mutually opposite inner surfaces 78 b, of the second receptacle 54. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, two channel-like indentations 80 are each recessed into a bead 88 of the guide housing 50.For the slotted guide 14 illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, the plug 6 can have at least one slotted guide element 90 aand the mating plug 8 can have at least one slotted guide element 90 bcomplemented to the slotted guide element 90 aof the plug 6. In particular, associated slide guide elements 90 a, 90 bmay engage in one another in each case, such that the slide guide 14 connects the plug 6 directly to the mating plug 8.The at least one sliding block guide element 90 aof the plug 6 can be designed, for example, as a sliding block 92. Preferably, two sliding blocks 92 are located on the plug 6. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the two sliding blocks 92 can be rail-like projections 94 parallel to one another, which extend in a straight line in the space 28 on opposite inner surfaces 86 of the plug housing 16 aof the plug 6 and run at least at an acute angle 96 to the first plug-in direction 10 and / or to the second plug-in direction 12. Alternatively, the two sliding blocks 92 can be designed as bolt-like or pin-like projections.The at least one slotted guide element 90 bof the mating plug 8 can in turn be a slotted link 98 with a slotted link track 100, wherein the slotted link track 100 is shaped complementarily to the slotted link block 92 and the course 102 of the slotted link track 100 specifies the direction 104 of the slotted link guide 14. Preferably, two slotted guides 98 are located on the mating plug 8 with a slotted guide track 100 each. The slotted guide tracks 100 can be realized, as shown in FIG. 1, by parallel, slot-like recesses 106 on two opposite outer surfaces 82 bof the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8. In particular, the link tracks 100 can be rectilinear grooves 110, which likewise run at an acute angle 96.In at least one cross section 112 perpendicular to the course 102 of the slotted-link tracks 100, an inner contour 114 of the slotted-link tracks 100 corresponds to an outer contour 116 of the associated sliding block 92. Correspondingly, the sliding blocks 92 each have a rectangular shaped outer contour 116. This can be seen in FIG. 8. Alternatively, the shape of the inner contours 114 and outer contours 116 can be square, triangular, semicircular, oval or a combination of such geometric basic shapes.As shown in FIG. 2, the mating connector 8 can be inserted into the second receptacle 54 and brought into a pre-assembly position 118 b, for example. In the embodiment shown, the pre-assembly position 118 bof the mating plug 8 is characterized in that the mating plug 8 is inserted into the second receptacle 54 until one end 120 of the link tracks 100 each protrudes at least partially into the first receptacle 52. This state is also shown in FIGS. 4 and 7.In FIG. 4, the plug 6 is inserted into the first receptacle 52 and is also shown brought into a pre-assembly position 118 a. In the pre-assembly position 118 aof the plug 6, the plug 6 is inserted into the first receptacle 52 until an outer edge 122 of the slide blocks 92 projects into the associated slide track 100, so that the slide blocks 92 engage with the associated slide tracks 100. By the interlocking of the associated slide guide elements 90 a, 90 b, a movement of the plug 6 along the first plug-in direction 10 is coupled by the slide guide 14 to a movement of the mating plug 8 in the direction of the second plug-in direction 12.From the pre-assembly position 118 aof the plug 6, the plug 6 can be brought into the final assembly position 124 aof the plug 6 shown in FIG. 5 by the plug 6 being inserted further into the first receptacle 52 along the first plug-in direction 10. The final assembly position 124 aof the plug 6 shown can be characterized in that at least one shoulder 126 of the plug housing 16 aof the plug 6 abuts a shoulder 128 of the first receptacle 52. Alternatively, in the final assembly position 124 aof the plug 6, the entire slide guide element 90 aof the plug can be inserted into the slide guide element 90 bof the mating plug 8.By means of the slotted guide 14, the insertion movement of the plug 6 generates a tightening movement of the mating plug 8, which moves the mating plug 8 further into the second receptacle 54, without having to influence the mating plug 8 in some other way. The pulling movement can bring the mating connector 8 into a final mounting position 124 bof the mating connector 8. In the final assembly position 124 bof the mating plug 8, an end face 130 of the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8 can rest on an inner face 86 of the plug housing 16 aof the plug 6. FIG. 3 shows the final mounting positions 124 a, 124 bof the plug 6 and the mating plug 8.Within the scope of a plug-out process, the steps just described proceed correspondingly in the reverse sequence.In FIGS. 6 to 8, a second possible embodiment of the angle plug connection 1 is shown, in which the pre-assembly position 118 band the final assembly position 124 bof the counter support 8 are defined by means of a latching connection 132. The latching connection 132 is produced by at least one latching element 134 on the mating connector 8 and at least one complementary latching element 136 in the guide housing 50. In particular, the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8 can have at least one flexible spring arm 138 with a latching hook 140. In the guide housing 50, at least one corresponding latching groove 142 can be provided, in which the at least one latching hook 140 can engage.In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, two flexible spring arms 138 are located on the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8 with a latching hook 140 each. Latching grooves 142 are formed in the guide housing 50 on two opposite inner surfaces 78 bof the second receptacle 54, which latching grooves are arranged successively along the second plug direction 12. The latching hooks 140 can each engage in a latching groove 142 of the guide housing 50, which groove represents either the pre-assembly position 118 bof the mating plug 8 or the final assembly position 124 bof the mating plug 8. As can additionally be seen from FIGS. 6 to 8, the latching grooves 142 of the guide housing 50 can be realized as continuous openings 146.Although not shown in the figures, such latching elements 134 can optionally also be present on the plug 6 and in the first receptacle 52.As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, each blade-shaped contact 26 of the plug 6 can be assigned at least one contact slot 44 of the fork-shaped contacts 40 of the mating plug 8. Furthermore, each blade-shaped contact 26 can be accommodated in the associated contact slot 44 such that it can be moved relative to the associated contact slot 44 in the direction 104 along the slotted guide 14, making contact with the associated contact slot 44. In particular, each blade-shaped contact 26 can be inserted into the associated contact slot 44 with the aid of the slotted guide 14 and can be electrically contacted on both sides. In this case, the insertion blade 38 simplifies the insertion of the respective blade-shaped contact 26 into the associated contact slot 44, since the insertion blade 38 penetrates between the tips 46 of the contact tongues 42 in a wedge-like manner and spreads the contact tongues 42 apart.In the spread-apart state of the contact tongues 42, the contact surfaces 24 aof the blade-shaped contacts 26 contact the contact surfaces 24 bof the fork-shaped contacts 40. in other words, the tips 46 of the contact tongues 42 lie on the contact surfaces 24 aand contact these electrically at in each case at least one contact point 45.The movement of the plug 6 and the mating plug 8 coupled via the slotted guide 14 generates a relative movement between the blade-shaped contacts 26 and the associated fork-shaped contacts 40. Consequently, during the plugging process between the plug 6 and the mating plug 8, a displacement of the at least one contact point 45 in each case takes place on the contact surfaces 24 aof the blade-shaped contacts 26. Due to the course 102 of the slide track 100, the at least one contact point 45 can be displaced at least in sections parallel to the course 102 of the slide track 100, i.e. along the direction 104. FIG. 10 shows a displacement of the at least one contact point 45 in each case, wherein the course 47 of the displacement is illustrated by a dashed arrow. In the case of a curved slotted guide track 100, the course 47 has a corresponding curvature. Alternatively or additionally, the at least one contact point 45 can also be displaced in sections parallel to the first plug-in direction 10 and / or second plug-in direction 12.The mating connector 8 can thus, as shown by way of example in FIG. 9, be installed in a windshield wiper arm 148 of the windshield wiper 4 from the outside in an inaccessible manner and can nevertheless be brought from the pre-installation position 118 bof the mating connector 8 into the final installation position 124 bof the mating connector 8 with the aid of the slotted guide 14, in that the connector 6 is transferred from the pre-installation position 118 aof the connector 6 into the final installation position 124 aof the connector 6. The plug 6 can be fastened to a windscreen wiper blade 150.The ends 152 of the fork-shaped contacts 40 remote from the contact surfaces 24 bof the fork-shaped contacts 40 may each be crimped onto conductors (not shown) of an electrical cable 154 of the wiper arm 148. The ends 152 of the blade-shaped contacts 26 facing away from the contact surfaces 24 aof the blade-shaped contacts 26 can in turn be connected to electrical heating elements 156 of the windscreen wiper blade 150 by soldering, welding or similar fastening methods.Overall, the windscreen wiper blade 150 can be detachably connected to the windscreen wiper arm 148 via the angle plug connection 1 according to the invention. If desired, at least one further mechanical and / or fluid-conducting link 158 may connect the wiper blade 150 to the wiper arm 148.In order to ensure the tightness of the angle plug connection 1 with respect to the penetration of water or other liquids, as shown in FIG. 1, the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8 can be surrounded by a sealing ring 162 in a circumferential direction 160 perpendicular to the second plug direction 12. The sealing ring 162 can thus serve to seal the intermediate space 164 bbetween the plug housing 16 bof the mating plug 8 and the guide housing 50. Alternatively, the guide housing 50 may be equipped with such a sealing ring 162. This is shown in FIG. 2 for sealing off the intermediate space 164 abetween the plug housing 16 aof the plug 6 and the guide housing 50.Reference numerals denote reference numerals1 Angle plug connection 2 Electrical plug 4 Windscreen wiper 6 Plug 8 Mating plug 10 First plug direction 12 Second plug direction 14 Link guide 16 a, 16 bPlug housing 18 a, 18 bContact carrier 20 a, 20 bContact element 22 a, 22 b Gegen contact 24 a, 24 bContact surface 26 Knife-shaped contact 28 Space 30 Direction 32 Section 34 Insertion bevel 36 Edge 38 Insertion blade 40 Fork-shaped contact 42 Contact tongue 44 Contact slot 45 Contact point 46 Tip 47 Course 48 Gap-shaped opening 50 Guide housing 52 First receptacle 54 Second receptacle 56 Cage 58 First receptacle 60 Second receptacle 62 a, 62 b Querschnitt 64 a, 64 b Innenkontur 66 a, 66 b Außenkontur 68 a, 68 b Querschnitt 70 Interior 72 Straight guide element 74 Complementary straight guide element 76 Rail-like bulge 78 a, 78 binner surface 80 channel-like indentation 82 a, 82 bouter surface 86 inner surface 88 bead 90 a, 90 bshift link guide element 92 slider block 94 rail-like projection 96 acute angle 98 slider 100 slider track 102 course 104 direction 106 slot-like recess 110 rectilinear groove 112 cross section 114 inner contour 116 outer contour 118 a, 118 bpremounting position 120 end 122 outer edge 124 a, 124 bendmounting position 126 shoulder 128 shoulder 130 end surface 132 latching connection 134 latching element 136 complementary latching element 138 flexible spring arm 140 latching hook 142 latching groove 146 continuous opening 148 windscreen wiper arm 150 windscreen wiper blade 152 end 154 cable 156 heating element 158 connecting element 160 circumferential direction 162 sealing ring 164 a, 164 bintermediate space

Claims

Angle plug connection (1) with a plug (6) which can be plugged along a first plug direction (10) and a mating plug (8) which can be plugged along a second plug direction (12) which runs obliquely or perpendicularly to the first plug direction (10), and with a guide housing (50) which is formed with a first receptacle (52) for the plug (6) and a second receptacle (54) for the mating plug (8), wherein the first receptacle (52) extends along the first plug direction (10) and the second receptacle (54) extends along the second plug direction (12), wherein the second receptacle (54) opens into the first receptacle (52), wherein the plug (8) is inserted into the first receptacle (52) and the mating plug (8) is inserted into the second receptacle (54), and wherein the plug (6) is connected to the mating plug (8) via a slotted guide (14).Angle plug connection (1) according to Claim 1, wherein the plug (6) has at least one link guide element (90a) and the mating plug (8) has at least one link guide element (90b) complementary to the link guide element (90a) of the plug (6).Angle plug connection (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the plug (6) has at least one sliding block (92) and the mating plug (8) has at least one sliding block (98) with a sliding block track (100) which is shaped in a complementary manner to the sliding block (92) of the plug (6).Angle plug connection (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, further comprising a guide housing (50) which is formed with a first receptacle (52) for the plug (6) and a second receptacle (54) for the mating plug (8), wherein the first receptacle (52) extends along the first plug direction (10) and the second receptacle (54) extends along the second plug direction (12), and wherein the second receptacle (54) opens into the first receptacle (52).Angle plug connection (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein a movement of the plug (6) along the first plug-in direction (10) through the slotted guide (14) is coupled to a movement of the mating plug (8) in the direction of the second plug-in direction (12).Angle plug connection (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 5, wherein at least one contact slot (44) of the mating plug (8) is assigned to at least one blade-shaped contact (26) of the plug (6), and wherein the at least one blade-shaped contact (26) is accommodated in the at least one contact slot (44) such that it can be moved relative to the at least one contact slot (44) in the direction (104), along the slotted link guide (14), making contact with the at least one contact slot (44).Electrical plug (2) for an angle plug connection (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 6, wherein at least one link guide element (90a, 90b) of the link guide (14) for guiding a complementary link guide element (90a, 90b) of the mating plug (6, 8) of the angle plug connection (1) is located on a plug housing (16a, 16b) of the electrical plug (2), wherein the at least one link guide element (90a, 90b) of the electrical plug (2) is configured: - as a rail-like projection (94) which extends on an inner surface (86) of the plug housing (16a), or - as a slot-like cutout (106) on an outer surface (82b) of the plug housing (16b).Electrical plug (2) according to Claim 7, wherein the plug housing (16a) holds at least one contact element (20a), which is designed as a blade-shaped contact (26) having at least one insertion bevel (34), and wherein the at least one insertion bevel (34) runs on an edge (36) of the blade-shaped contact (26) parallel to the first plug-in direction (10).Electrical plug (2) according to Claim 7, wherein the plug housing (16b) holds at least one contact element (20b), which is designed as a fork-shaped contact (40) with at least two contact tongues (42) defining the contact slot (44), and the contact slot (44) runs parallel to the second plug-in direction (12).Electrical plug (2) according to Claim 8 or 9, wherein the at least one contact element (20a, 20b) extends freely in a space (28) surrounded by the plug housing (16a, 16b), in which space the at least one slide guide element (90a, 90b) is also located.Electrical connector (2) according to one of Claims 7 to 10, wherein a slotted guide element (90a, 90b) is located in each case on at least two mutually opposite surfaces (82a, 82b, 86) of the connector housing (16a, 16b).Electrically heated windscreen wiper (4) comprising a windscreen wiper arm (148) and a windscreen wiper blade (150), said windscreen wiper blade (150) being connected to said windscreen wiper arm (148) at least via an angular plug connection (1) according to any of claims 1 to 6.

Images