Shielded connector system

Abstract

In order to establish a reliable and inexpensive electrical ground connection within a push-pull connector system between a connector (1) and a mating connector (2) plugged and locked thereto - or at least to improve the reliability of such an electrical connection in an inexpensive manner - it is proposed to arrange a sealing ring (16) between their plug-in areas, which is at least partially electrically conductive.

Description

The invention is based on a plug connector system according to the preamble of independent claim 1.Such plug connector systems are required to transmit electrical signals and / or electrical energy and to provide an adequate shielding connection.Prior ArtDE 102 36 275 B3 discloses a push-pull locking device for a plug-in connection, in which locking means formed on the plug-in housing enter corresponding locking recesses on the mating plug and can be unlocked again by means of an axially displaceable sliding sleeve.The publication DE 20 2006 005 177 U1 discloses, based thereon, a metallic plug connector which serves to provide a plug connection, which is mechanically heavy to load and is provided for use under difficult environmental conditions, with a device which is easy to plug and lock. In order to enable such a metallic plug connector with a simple, axial sliding device for locking and unlocking at the same time as a high degree of tightness with respect to difficult environmental conditions, it is proposed to arrange at least one latching plate on the base body of the plug connector. The locking plate has an angled latch. In addition, a wedge pointing into the sleeve is formed on the plug side of the sleeve. The angled bolt of the detent plate rests on a sliding slope of the wedge. When the sleeve is retracted, the latch runs onto the sliding slope of the wedge. When the plug connector is plugged into the mating connector, a locking hook provided on the latching plate is thus levered out of a depression formed in the mating connector. Furthermore, it is disclosed that a sealing ring to be inserted in a circumferential groove is arranged between the base body of the plug connector and the plug sleeve of the mating plug.Such plug connectors consist of a plurality of individual parts, which not only makes sealing more difficult, as mentioned above. In addition, there is the problem of screen transfer between the plug and the mating plug. This serves on the one hand for signal integrity and in some cases can even be of safety importance for the regulation grounding. Due to the movable parts of the push-pull plug connections, the ground connection between the plug and the mating plug is problematic.In the prior art, shield transfers for push-pull plug connectors are known, which take place via metallic spring elements. However, these may become unstable under high plug-in cycles and / or environmental influences, for example under thermal loads. For example, after a thermal load, the spring force may decrease. As a result, the electrical contact resistance then increases as a result of the drop in the contact normal force. At least in some desired designs, there is therefore a need to improve this mass connection without thereby impairing the locking mechanism and / or the sealing.Object Setting Up To AchieveThe object of the invention is to improve the contact safety of a ground connection of a plug connector system having a push-pull locking without thereby impairing the locking mechanism and / or the sealing of the plug connector system.The term "plug connector system" is understood here to mean a system comprising a plug connector and a mating plug which can be plugged therewith.The term "push pull" locking means that the plug connector and the mating plug automatically lock together when they are plugged together and can also be unlocked from one another by pulling an unlocking sleeve of the plug connector counter to the plug direction, i.e. away from the mating plug.The object is achieved by the subject matter of independent claim 1.A plug connector system has a plug connector and a mating plug pluggable with the plug connector. The plug connector has a plug connector housing and the mating plug has a mating plug housing. The plug connector and the mating plug can be locked together automatically when they are plugged together.In the plugged and locked state, the plug connector and the mating plug can be unlocked from one another again by pulling an unlocking sleeve of the plug connector counter to the plug-in direction.The phrase "counter to the plug-in direction" means in this context "along the plug-in axis and away from the counterplug".The plug connector system has an elastic sealing ring which, in the plugged state, is arranged sealingly between the plug connector and the mating plug. The sealing ring is at least partially made of an electrically conductive material. In the plugged state, the sealing ring electrically conductively connects the plug connector housing to the mating plug connector housing.Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims and the following description.The plug connector system has the advantage that the safety of the shield transfer between the plug connector and the mating plug in the plugged state is ensured to a particularly high degree.A shield transfer can take place in any case in a conventional manner, i.e. for example via a locking and unlocking spring, via the direct contact of the plug connector housing with the mating plug housing or via a separate contact spring provided exclusively for this purpose.However, the additional use of the electrically conductive sealing ring ensures in each case additional security for this screen transmission.The aforementioned conventional shield transfer is not impaired by this, however, since the sealing ring is particularly elastic and almost resistance-free adapts to the circumstances and shapes of the metal parts of the plug connection engaging it. Furthermore, this also does not impair a possible spring mechanism. Finally, the sealing ring is a component which is present in any case in order to ensure adequate tightness. Due to the now added electrically conductive properties, the sealing ring does indeed experience a dual function. However, this does not alter any mechanical interaction with the other elements of the plug connection.In a preferred embodiment, the sealing ring can consist for the most part of an elastic base material which is formed, for example, from an elastic plastic, for example an elastomer, in particular from rubber.This base material can then be coated with an electrically conductive material. This is a very inexpensive method of using a base material which itself has electrically insulating properties and nevertheless to enable the sealing ring to have said electrical conductivity.In a preferred embodiment, the base material can be interspersed with electrically conductive structures. For example, nanoparticles made of carbon can be introduced into the base material of the sealing ring. This has the advantage that the electrical conductivity resulting therefrom is not endangered by abrasion, i.e., no appreciable wear phenomena are to be expected in this regard.The base material can be electrically insulating. However, it can also already itself be electrically conductive.Both the plug connector housing and the mating plug housing can consist at least partially, in particular for the most part, e.g. completely, of an electrically conductive material, in particular metal.Preferably, the sealing ring can be arranged at least in the plugged and locked state on the plug section and in the vicinity of a latching region of the plug connector.In a further preferred embodiment, said automatic locking of the plug connector to the mating plug can be realized by means of at least one metallic latching spring. In the locked state, the plug connector can be realized with the mating plug simultaneously via at least two different paths, namely both via the at least one metallic latching spring and via the electrically conductive sealing ring.Unlocking can be made possible by said pulling of the unlocking sleeve allowing the at least one latching spring to be pivoted from a locking position into an unlocking position.In a preferred embodiment, the plug connector can have a so-called "male" plug section which has pin contacts. Then, the mating connector has a so-called "female" plug portion having female contacts to be pluggable with the plug portion of the plug connector.Alternatively, the plug connector can have a female plug section which accordingly has socket contacts. Then, the mating connector has a male connector portion having pin contacts to be pluggable with the connector portion of the connectorExemplary EmbodimentAn exemplary embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings and is explained in more detail below. The following are shown: FIG. 1 a shows a plug connector system in a sectional illustration; FIG. 1 b shows the plug connector system in a second sectional illustration.The figures contain partly simplified schematic representations. In part, identical reference numerals are used for identical, but possibly non-identical, elements. Different views of like elements could be scaled differently. Directional indications such as, for example, "left", "right", "top" and "bottom" are to be understood with reference to the respective figure and can vary in the individual representations with respect to the object represented.FIGS. 1 aand 1 b show a plug connector system formed from a plug connector and a mating plug connector. FIG. 1 bshows an unlocking sleeve 3, which is omitted in FIG. 1 afor reasons of clarity. The plug connector 1 is shown on the right, the mating plug 2 on the left. The plug connector 1 is plugged and latched to the mating plug 2. The unlocking sleeve 3 belongs to the plug connector 1.The connector 1 has a connector housing 10 and the mating connector has a mating connector housing 20.For the purpose of latching, a plug-side, funnel-shaped plug section 11 of the plug connector housing 10 engages over a hollow-cylindrical plug-side mating plug section 21 of the mating plug housing 20. The funnel-shaped plug section 11 of the plug connector housing 10 is, as shown in FIG. 1 b, surrounded on the outside by said unlocking sleeve 3.As can be seen easily in the drawing, the plug connector 1 in the plugged state latches by means of its latching spring 13 on an outer, circumferential latching nose 23 of the mating plug section 21 of the mating plug connector 2. As soon as the unlocking sleeve 3 is pulled counter to the plug-in direction, i.e. away from the counterplug 2-to the right in the drawing-the unlocking sleeve 3 with its unlocking section 31 unlocks the locking spring 13 from the locking nose 23 of the counterplug 2. the aforementioned pulling of the unlocking sleeve is usually carried out manually by engaging and pulling the unlocking sleeve 3, which is held for this purpose linearly displaceable on the plug connector housing 10, on a handle 34 of the unlocking sleeve 3 provided for this purpose.However, the metallic detent spring 13 also has a second function, namely the establishment of an electrical contact between the plug connector housing 10, to which it is fastened, and the mating plug housing 20 for the purpose of common shield connection.However, it is easily apparent that this latching connection per se does not ensure an excessively secure electrical contact. Finally, the shape of the latching spring 13 is optimized primarily to the requirements of the latching connection and could only be less well fulfilled by this task, if it were directed more strongly to improving the electrical contacting.The above-mentioned sealing ring 16 is, however, at least partially made of an electrically conductive material and is thus capable of electrically conductively connecting the plug connector housing 10 to the mating plug housing 20 by the metallic detent spring 13 in addition to the aforementioned electrical connection-which already exists in any case but is only suitable per se to a limited extent. The dual function of the electrically conductive sealing ring 16 formed thereby-on the one hand as a seal and on the other hand as an electrically conductive connection between the plug connector housing 10 and the mating plug housing 20-can also be implemented substantially better from a manufacturing standpoint.Finally, for both said functions, a large common contact surface between the sealing ring 16 and the plug connector housing 10 and with the mating plug housing 20 is advantageous. In contrast, in the case of the latching spring 13, it is advantageous for the latching mechanism for the latching spring 13 to have as small a contact surface as possible with the mating connector housing 20. It is easily recognizable to the skilled person with reference to the drawing that an effective locking would hardly be possible with a fictitious, comparatively large-area and in particular additionally elastic contacting, as exists for example between the sealing ring 16 and the counterplug housing 20. Finally, for good and reliable electrical contacting-as well as for good sealing-a large-area common mechanical contact is particularly advantageous, which is rather unsuitable for reliable locking.It is therefore particularly advantageous to use the sealing ring 16 at least in addition to the electrical contacting between the plug connector housing 10 and the mating plug housing 20, in that it is formed at least partially from an electrically conductive material.The plug connector 1 is designed female, i.e. has socket contacts which can be seen easily in the sectional illustration in FIG. 1 b. These socket contacts are accommodated in contact chambers of a contact carrier of the plug connector 1, wherein the contact carrier 14 is arranged in the plug connector housing 10 and at least in sections in the plug section 11 of the plug connector housing 10. The mating plug 2 has a mating contact carrier with mating contact chambers in which pin contacts are accommodated as mating contacts which, in the plugged state, are accommodated by the socket contacts and make electrical contact therewith.The reverse case is also expressly disclosed in connection with the invention, in which the plug connector 1 would be male and the mating plug 2 would be female. Then the plug connector 1 would have the pin contacts and the mating plug the socket contacts. Instead of being held linearly displaceably on the plug connector 1 (as shown), the unlocking sleeve 3 could also be held linearly displaceably on the mating plug 2. The latching spring 13 could alternatively also be pivotably fastened to the mating plug section 21 of the mating plug 2 instead of to the plug section 11 of the plug connector 1 (as shown) and would then latch on the plug section 11 of the plug connector 1 in the plugged and locked state. This alternative is also expressly disclosed in connection with the invention.Although different aspects or features of the invention are shown in combination in the figures, it is obvious to the person skilled in the art-unless stated otherwise-that the combinations shown and discussed are not the only possible. In particular, mutually corresponding units or feature complexes from different exemplary embodiments can be interchanged with one another.List of reference characters1 Plug connector 10 Plug connector housing 11 Plug section 13 Locking spring 16 Sealing ring 18 Circumferential groove 2 Counter plug 20 Counter plug housing 21 Counter plug section 23 Locking nose 3 Unlocking sleeve 31 Unlocking section 34 HandleReferences included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 102 36 275 B3

[0003] DE 20 2006 005 177 U1

[0004]

Claims

Plug connector system, comprising a plug connector (1) which has a plug connector housing (10), and a mating plug (2) which can be plugged with the plug connector (1) and has a mating plug housing (2), wherein the plug connector (1) and the mating plug (2) can be locked together automatically when being plugged together and can be unlocked from one another again by pulling an unlocking sleeve (3) of the plug connector (1) in the plugged and locked state counter to the plug direction, wherein the plug connector system has an elastic sealing ring (16) which is arranged in a sealing manner between the plug connector (1) and the mating plug (2) in the plugged state, characterized in that the sealing ring (16) consists at least partially of an electrically conductive material and connects the plug connector housing (10) to the mating plug housing (20) in an electrically conductive manner in the plugged state.Plug connector system according to Claim 1, characterized in that the sealing ring (16) consists for the most part of an elastic base material.Plug connector system according to Claim 2, characterized in that the base material of the sealing ring (16) is formed from an elastic plastic, in particular an elastomer.Plug connector system according to one of Claims 2 to 3, characterized in that the base material of the sealing ring (16) is coated with an electrically conductive material.Plug connector system according to one of Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the base material of the sealing ring (16) is penetrated by electrically conductive structures.Plug connector system according to one of Claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the base material of the sealing ring (16) itself is electrically conductive.Plug connector system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that both the plug connector housing (10) and the mating plug housing (20) consist at least partially, in particular for the most part, preferably completely, of an electrically conductive material, in particular metal.Plug connector system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sealing ring (16) is arranged at least in the plugged state on a plug section (11) and in the vicinity of a latching region of the plug connector (1).Plug connector system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the automatic locking of the plug connector (1) to the mating plug (2) is realized by means of at least one metallic latching spring (16) and, in the locked state, the plug connector (1) is realized simultaneously with the mating plug (2) via at least two different paths, namely both via the metallic latching spring (13) and via the electrically conductive sealing ring (16).Plug connector system according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said unlocking is made possible by the at least one latching spring (13) being pivotable from a locking position into an unlocking position by means of said pulling of the unlocking sleeve (3).

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