High-voltage plug

Abstract

A method for producing a connector for a high-voltage cable (100) with an electrically effective shield is proposed. The proposed method enables the production of a connector for a high-voltage cable using an automated process because all work steps are performed from the same side of the high-voltage cable and all components are assembled from the same side of the high-voltage cable. Furthermore, the method does not shorten the shield of the high-voltage cable, but rather folds it over. This prevents individual loose wire pieces of a braided shield, which arise when shortening the braided shield, from ending up in places where they could trigger short circuits.

Description

Area

[0001] The invention relates to a method for producing a connector for a shielded high-voltage cable and to a connector with a high-voltage cable having a shield. background

[0002] Shielded individual electrical cables are used, for example, in the automotive sector to connect electrical units and components. In order to save material and weight, there is a general trend towards ever higher operating voltages, which allow for smaller cable cross-sections. This applies in particular to vehicles with purely electric or hybrid drive systems. In such vehicles, devices and consumers are therefore increasingly supplied from power sources with higher voltages. The power sources used can be designed for voltages of up to 1000 V. Consumers in electric vehicles include, for example, a drive motor and heaters. Due to the high operating voltages, individual cables with an electrically effective shield are often used to connect consumers to a battery.Appropriate connectors are required to connect the described cables. Previously used methods for assembling connectors onto shielded high-voltage cables generally require manual work, resulting in high production costs. Furthermore, existing methods often require the high-voltage cable's shield to be shortened. If the shield is made of wire mesh, this creates short pieces of wire that, if not carefully removed, can lead to unwanted short circuits.

[0003] Based on this, the present invention has the object of creating a method for producing a plug for a high-voltage line and a high-voltage line with a plug in order to overcome or at least improve one or more of the problems mentioned above. Description of the invention

[0004] To achieve this object, the invention proposes, according to a first aspect, a method for producing a connector for a high-voltage cable with an electrically effective shield. The method comprises the following steps: - Removing a section of predetermined length of an outer sheath of the high-voltage cable to expose the shield; - Attaching a sub-crimp sleeve to the exposed shield so that the sub-crimp sleeve is mechanically and electrically connected to the shield, wherein the sub-crimp sleeve is shorter in the axial direction than the length of the removed portion of the outer sheath and a peripheral edge of the sub-crimp sleeve is adjacent to an edge of the outer sheath, - Fold over an area of the shield that is not under the lower crimp sleeve to the outside of the lower crimp sleeve, - Removing a section of predetermined length of an inner sheath of the high-voltage cable to expose the conductor of the high-voltage cable, - Attaching a contact piece to the exposed conductor, - Slide an electrically insulating shielding tube over the contact piece, - Slide an electrically conductive shielding plate over the unwrapped shield and the shielding tube, - Attaching the shielding plate to the unwrapped shield to mechanically and electrically connect the shielding plate to the unwrapped shield, and - Mounting two housing halves over the shield plate.

[0005] The proposed method enables the production of a connector for a high-voltage cable using an automated process. A key aspect of the method is that all work steps are performed and all components are assembled from the same side of the high-voltage cable. For this reason, the work steps can be performed by a robot without manual intervention. A further advantage of the proposed method is that the shield of the university cable is not shortened, but folded over. This prevents individual loose wire pieces from a braided shield, which arise when shortening the braided shield, from ending up in places where they could trigger short circuits.

[0006] In an advantageous embodiment, the bottom crimp sleeve is attached to the exposed shield by crimping. Crimping is a sophisticated technology that is easily automated.

[0007] It is also advantageous to attach the shielding plate to the unwrapped shield by crimping.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the method further comprises inserting a seal between the two housing halves. The seal provides strain relief for the connector.

[0009] According to a second aspect of the invention, a high-voltage cable with a plug is proposed, which has a conductor, an inner and outer sheath, and an electrically effective shield between the inner and outer sheaths. The plug further comprises a sub-crimp sleeve which is crimped onto the electrically effective shield of the high-voltage cable and on the outside of which a section of the shield is folded over, a contact piece attached to the conductor of the high-voltage line, an insulating shielding tube that is pushed over the contact piece, a shield plate that is attached to the unfolded shield and a two-part housing that surrounds the shield plate.

[0010] In an advantageous embodiment, the housing parts are identical. The use of identical parts reduces the production costs for the housing parts and simplifies the manufacture of the connector, at least from the perspective of simplified logistics and warehousing.

[0011] Advantageously, a seal is arranged between the housing parts to provide strain relief for the high-voltage cable. The strain relief ensures that the connector 120 does not detach from the high-voltage cable when tensile forces are exerted on the high-voltage cable 100.

[0012] In an advantageous embodiment, the shielding plate can be made of an electrically conductive plastic. Electrically conductive plastics are more cost-effective than brass or copper, for example. Short description of the drawing

[0013] The invention will be explained in more detail below using an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying figures. All figures are purely schematic and not to scale. They show: Fig. 1A-L schematically shows individual production steps for the manufacture of a connector for a high-voltage cable, and Fig. 2 a plan view of a plug according to the invention with an opened housing.

[0014] Identical or similar elements are provided with identical or similar reference symbols in the figures. Description of the example

[0015] Fig. 1 A shows a high-voltage cable 100 in a side view with a view of an outer sheath 101 of the high-voltage cable 100. The outer diameter of the outer sheath 101 is d1.

[0016] In Fig. Figure 1B shows one end of the high-voltage cable 100 in a longitudinal section, with individual components of the high-voltage cable 100 separated at different lengths for clarity. Beneath the outer sheath 101 lies a shield 102, made, for example, of a wire mesh, surrounding an inner sheath 103. The inner sheath 103 encloses a conductor 104. Fig. Figure 1B is purely schematic, so the thicknesses of components 101-104 do not reflect actual dimensions. For example, shield 102 is significantly thinner than inner cladding 103 or outer cladding 101.

[0017] In Fig. 1C, the high-voltage line 100 is shown schematically in cross section. As for Fig. 1B also applies to Fig. 1C that the thicknesses of components 101-104 do not reflect the actual conditions.

[0018] Fig. 1D shows the high-voltage line 100 from Fig. 1, in which the outer sheath 101 is offset over a length L1. The shield 102, which consists, for example, of a wire mesh, can be seen beneath the outer sheath 101.

[0019] In Fig. 1E, a sub-crimp sleeve 106 is pushed on and crimped onto the shield 102, which in Fig. 1E is illustrated with an oblique line 107. The subcrimp sleeve 106 has an axial length L2 that is less than the length L1, so that the shield 102 is exposed over a section 108 with a length L3, where L1 = L2 + L3. The subcrimp sleeve 106 is pushed over the shield 102 until an edge of the subcrimp sleeve 106 abuts an edge of the cut-off outer jacket 101. The subcrimp sleeve 106 has an outer side 109.

[0020] In Fig. 1F, the exposed section 108 of the shield 102 is folded over the lower crimp sleeve 106 and lies on a , so that the inner jacket 103 can be seen over the length L3.

[0021] In Fig. 1G, the inner sheath 103 is offset over a length L4 so that the conductor 104 is exposed over the length L4.

[0022] In Fig. 1H, a contact piece 110 is attached to the conductor 104, for example, by a tubular extension 111 being pressed onto the conductor 104. The contact piece 110 can be designed in a variety of ways. In particular, the contact piece can be a male or female plug.

[0023] In Fig. 1I, a shielding tube 112 is pushed over the contact piece 110. The shielding tube is made, for example, of an insulating plastic material. The outer diameter of the shielding tube 112 essentially corresponds to the diameter d2 of the shield 102 wrapped over the bottom crimp sleeve 106. In comparison, the diameter d1 of the outer jacket 101 is smaller.

[0024] In Fig. 1J, a shield plate 113 is pushed over the shield ear 112 and the unfolded shield 102 until the shield plate 113 completely covers the shield ear 112 and the unfolded shield 102. Ideally, the shield plate 113 protrudes a few millimeters beyond the folded shield 102.

[0025] In Fig. 1K, the shielding plate 113 is crimped onto the folded shield 102, which in Fig. 1K is symbolized by a horizontal line 114. In this way, the shield plate 113 is mechanically attached and electrically connected to the shield 102.

[0026] In Fig. 1L, two housing halves 116a, 116b are joined together, enclosing the shielding plate 113. The housing halves 116a, 116b together form a housing 116. The housing halves 116a, 116b are connected to one another by means of a combination of locking openings 117 and locking projections 118. The two housing halves 116a, 116b are constructed identically as identical parts, thus providing cost advantages in the manufacture of the housing parts 116a, 116b and the production of the connector. With the fully assembled housing 116, a connector 120 according to the invention for a high-voltage cable is created.

[0027] Fig. Figure 2 shows a top view of the connector 120 with the housing 116 open, revealing a seal 121 inserted between the housing halves 116a, 116b. The seal 121 is elastic and is compressed when the housing halves 116a, 116b are locked together. The seal 121 thus provides strain relief for the cable 100. List of reference symbols 100 high-voltage lines 101 outer shell 102 umbrella 103 inner coat 104 ladders 106 Undercrimp sleeve 107 Slanted Line Section 108 109 Outside of the lower crimp sleeve 110 Contact piece 111 tubular attachment 112 umbrella tube 113 shield plate 114 Horizontal line 116a,b housing halves 117 locking openings 118 locking projections 120 plugs 121 Seal

Claims

[1] Method for producing a plug (120) for a high-voltage line (100) with an electrically effective shield (102), the method comprising the following steps - removing a section of predetermined length (L1) of an outer sheath (101) of the high-voltage line (100) to expose the shield (102); - attaching a sub-crimp sleeve (106) to the exposed shield so that the sub-crimp sleeve (106) is mechanically and electrically connected to the shield (102), wherein the sub-crimp sleeve (106) is shorter in the axial direction than the length (L3) of the removed portion (108) of the outer sheath (101) and a peripheral edge of the sub-crimp sleeve (106) borders an edge of the outer sheath, - folding a portion of the shield (102) which is not located under the lower crimp sleeve (106) onto an outer side (109) of the lower crimp sleeve, - removing a section of predetermined length (L4) of an inner sheath (103) of the high-voltage line to expose the conductor (104) of the high-voltage line (100), - Attaching a contact piece (110) to the exposed conductor (104), - sliding an electrically insulating shielding tube (112) over the contact piece (110), - sliding an electrically conductive shielding plate (113) over the unwrapped shield (102) and the shielding tube (112), - fixing the shielding plate (113) to the unwrapped shield in order to mechanically and electrically connect the shielding plate to the unwrapped shield, and - Mount two housing halves (116a,b) over the shield plate. [2] The method of claim 1, wherein the securing of the undercrimp sleeve (106) to the exposed shield (102) is performed by crimping. [3] Method according to claim 1, wherein the fastening of the shielding sheet (113) to the unwrapped shield (102) is carried out by crimping. [4] A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the method further comprises - Insert a seal (121) between the two housing halves (116a,b). [5] High-voltage cable with a plug (120) comprising a conductor (104), an inner (103) and outer sheath (101) and an electrically effective shield (102) between the inner and outer sheaths, the plug further comprising a sub-crimp sleeve (106) which is crimped onto the electrically active shield (102) of the high-voltage cable (100) and on whose outer side (109) a section of the shield is folded over, a contact piece (110) which is attached to the conductor (104) of the high-voltage line (100), an insulating shielding tube (112) which is pushed over the contact piece (110), a shield plate (113) which is attached to the folded shield (102) and a two-part housing (116) which surrounds the shield plate (113). [6] Plug according to claim 5, characterized by that the housing parts (116a,b) are identical parts. [7] Plug according to claim 5 or 6, characterized by that a seal (121) is arranged between the housing parts (116a,b), which provides strain relief for the high-voltage cable. [8] Plug according to one of claims 5-7, characterized by that the shielding plate (113) is made of an electrically conductive plastic.

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