CONTACT CARRIER WITH STABLE LOCKING DEVICE

Description

[0001] The invention is based on a contact carrier according to the preamble of independent claim 1.

[0002] The invention further relates to a method for mounting a plug contact in a contact carrier according to claim 1.

[0003] Such contact carriers are required to hold at least one plug contact inserted into them and thereby absorb the mating forces acting on it during the mating process. The plug contact can have a cable connection area, namely a crimp connection, on the connection side and a plug-in area, e.g., a contact pin or a contact socket, on the mating side. The plug contact can have a central collar between the mating area and the cable connection area. In addition, the plug contact can have a collar on its connection-side end. State of the art

[0004] Single-part and multi-part contact carriers for receiving and holding such plug contacts are known in the prior art.

[0005] For securing the plug contacts mentioned above, locking methods have become known in which a dedicated contact carrier holds such a plug contact against mating forces by its terminal-side collar. In this design, the middle collar of the plug contact has a bevel on the terminal side, i.e., directed toward the cable connection, to enable or facilitate removal of the plug contact from this contact carrier.

[0006] The central collar, together with the terminal-side collar, serves, among other things, to guide the plug contact within the contact carrier and center its mating area in a hollow cylindrical through-hole of the contact carrier. Furthermore, the central collar also has a mating-side retaining surface, i.e., directed toward the mating area. This retaining surface can interact with the contact carrier to prevent the plug contact from inserting too deeply into the contact carrier toward the mating side.

[0007] With this design, the plug contact accommodated in the corresponding contact carrier can be secured against movement in the direction of the plug-in side by its central collar and against movement in the direction of the cable connection side by its connection-side collar.

[0008] However, this arrangement has proven disadvantageous in practice for the following reasons: During crimping, the crimp terminal of the plug contact is always subject to elongation. This elongation varies depending on the type of crimping process, for example, the type of crimping pliers, crimping machine, or other crimping tools. Therefore, the change in length of the crimp terminal cannot be precisely quantified during the manufacture of the plug contact and / or contact carrier.

[0009] If the elongation of the crimp terminal during crimping is slightly shorter than expected, the plug contact in the aforementioned contact carrier has a corresponding amount of play in the plugging direction. If the elongation is greater than expected, difficulties may arise when fitting the plug contacts into the contact carrier, as the crimped crimp terminal no longer fits into the designated section of the contact carrier.

[0010] There have therefore already been attempts to establish a uniform crimping procedure for such connectors, but this has not met with unanimous customer approval. Therefore, contact carriers that hold the plug contact by its terminal-side collar are considered disadvantageous.

[0011] In order to solve this problem, locking mechanisms have also become known which act on the plug contacts on both sides, both in and against the plugging direction, between their cable connection area (crimp connection) and their plug-in area (contact pin / contact socket).

[0012] From the document DE 15 15 813 B2, for example, a device for holding replaceable contact elements in electrical connectors is known, in which an additional locking means, for example a locking cone, between the cable connection area and the plug-in area secures the contact element in a one-piece contact carrier and absorbs the plug-in forces.

[0013] The disadvantage of this design is that at least one additional locking device is required to fix the electrical contacts, for example in the form of a snap ring, a locking clip, a locking cone or a locking hook.

[0014] DE 196 31 467 A1 discloses a multi-pin connector with several plug contacts, each of which is accommodated in a through-hole of a multi-part contact carrier. A locking projection protruding from one side of the through-hole engages a retaining recess in the center section of the plug contact and supports the plug contact against axial loading. A spring tongue opposite the locking projection holds the plug contact in its assembled position.

[0015] Unfortunately, the state of the art has shown that many plug contacts on the market (for example, plug contacts of the Han C type from HARTING) cannot be secured in such contact carriers with sufficient stability by such locking mechanisms to withstand the resulting mating forces. Finally, the engagement surface on its center collar, which is relevant for locking according to this fastening method, is beveled on the connection side, as already mentioned at the beginning. However, this connection-side bevel has the disadvantage that, at a certain mating force, the engagement bevel of the center collar presses the known locking means into their unlocking position, causing unintentional unlocking. Nevertheless, these plug contacts are available in large quantities on the market and are intended to continue to be used, particularly due to their excellent long-term performance, which has been proven in practice.

[0016] The German Patent and Trademark Office has searched the following prior art in the priority application for this application: EP 3 232 517 A1.

[0017] Furthermore, EP 3 232 517 A1 discloses an electrical connector, in particular a pyrotechnic connector, for insertion into a mating connector of a safety restraint system. This connector has a locking device that can be inserted into the connector housing in the insertion direction.

[0018] The document US 3,697,928 A shows a connector that locks a crimp contact on the cable connection side to its rear collar and makes it possible to dismantle the crimp contact using a commercially available tool.

[0019] Document DE 10 2017 211983 A1 discloses a connector with a housing having a plurality of terminal receiving chambers into which a terminal is inserted. Each terminal receiving chamber is provided with a flexible housing piece for holding and locking the terminal. Furthermore, the connector has a rear retainer mounted on the housing, which abuts the flexible housing piece and prevents the flexible housing piece from being unlocked. In the connector, the rear retainer has a retainer locking projection for holding and locking the terminals in the respective terminal receiving chambers. Task

[0020] The object of the invention is to provide a contact carrier which is also capable of holding a plug contact inserted therein particularly stably, even at its bevelled central collar arranged thereon, and at the same time absorbing the highest possible insertion forces.

[0021] This problem is solved by the features of the independent claims.

[0022] A contact carrier has a mating side and an opposite connection side. It is used to accommodate and secure a plug contact, which has a crimp connection and a central collar with a bevel on the connection side. The contact carrier has an insulating body and a retaining plate that can be mounted on the connection side. Furthermore, the contact carrier has at least one locking element, which, when not mounted, can assume a position that locks the plug contact to its central collar or can unlock it.

[0023] According to the invention, the locking element is a component of the insulating body. The retaining plate further comprises at least one locking element, which, when mounted, fixes the at least one locking element in its locking position for the plug contact, thus preventing its transition from the locking position to the unlocking position.

[0024] The term "connection side" here and below refers to the cable connection side, i.e., inclined or aligned at the respective cable connection side and / or at least in the direction of the respective cable connection side. The term "connection side" generally refers to the cable connection side.

[0025] The locking element is a locking arm.

[0026] The invention is particularly advantageous because, in this way, the plug contact latches onto the insulating body, if necessary, instead of onto the retaining plate. The mounted retaining plate, in turn, merely ensures, through the locking element, that the at least one latching element of the insulating body is fixed in its position latching the plug contact. The retaining plate itself does not absorb any mating forces. This allows the contact carrier to absorb the forces occurring during the mating process particularly effectively, because the retaining plate is relieved of the mating forces that naturally act toward the connection side—and thus in its disassembly direction.

[0027] According to the invention, it is thus possible to hold the contact pin particularly stably and reliably in the contact carrier by its central collar, even if the central collar is beveled on the connection side. Finally, the at least one locking element is fixed in its locking position by the locking element and, despite the connection-side bevel of the central collar, cannot be moved into its unlocking position in the fixed state, even under particularly strong insertion forces.

[0028] Advantageously, this also allows those contact pins to be fixed centrally in the contact carrier which would otherwise not be able to be locked into the contact carrier with sufficient holding force due to the bevel of their central collar on the connection side.

[0029] Such a central fixation, i.e. a locking mechanism on the central collar that prevents unlatching, is also particularly advantageous for the following reasons: It is particularly advantageous to hold the plug contacts at their central collar for locking in the insulating body because then the inaccurate elongation of the crimp connection cannot affect the positioning of the plug contact, in particular its contact pin, relative to the contact carrier.

[0030] Using the contact carrier according to the invention, it is also possible to use plug contacts whose central collar has a bevel on the connection side, for example the Han C type contacts from HARTING. This is a great advantage because these plug contacts are already available in large numbers on the market. Furthermore, they can be manufactured cost-effectively in this form using existing manufacturing processes and equipment. Moreover, they have already proven themselves in their current form with regard to many other quality criteria. Ultimately, from the customer's perspective, it is fundamentally advantageous to have a manageable number of different types of plug contacts that can be used as universally as possible, rather than many different types that can each only be used in very specific applications.Advantageously, the contact carrier according to the invention thus contributes to the compatibility of existing plug contacts for different locking methods and can be manufactured even more cost-effectively in large series.

[0031] Finally, the inventive design of the contact carrier allows this type of plug contact to be used universally. These plug contacts do not need to be held by their connection-side collar in conventional contact carriers, but can now also be securely latched to the inventive contact carrier by their beveled central collar.

[0032] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

[0033] In a preferred embodiment, the insulating body can have a cuboidal basic shape with a preferably substantially cylindrical through-opening, which extends from the connection side to the plug-in side, i.e. whose axis of symmetry optionally runs in the plug-in direction. The at least one locking element can be a locking arm, which is integrally formed on the inside of the through-opening and projects into the through-opening to lock the plug-in contact, in particular with a locking lug integrally formed thereon. The insulating body preferably has at least two such locking arms. Particularly preferably, at least three, in particular at least four locking arms are integrally formed on the inside of the through-opening of the insulating body.

[0034] In particular, the insulating body has at least two, in particular at least three, preferably at least four, for example two, three, four, five,...,n locking arms for locking the inserted plug contact to its central collar and thus preventing movement of the plug contact towards the connection side of the contact carrier. Furthermore, the contact carrier can have at least two, in particular at least three, preferably at least four, for example two, three, four, five,...,n holding elements which are integrally formed on the inside of the insulating body and which prevent the plug contact from moving deeper towards the plug-in side of the contact carrier. In this case, one of said holding elements can advantageously always be arranged between two of said locking arms. In particular, the locking arms and the holding elements can be integrally formed together on a circumferential inner collar formed in the through-opening.This means they are particularly stable and can absorb particularly high insertion forces.

[0035] In a preferred embodiment, the retaining plate can have a square or at least rectangular base plate with a preferably circular insertion opening. The locking element can be a locking sleeve molded onto the base plate, through which said insertion opening extends. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the locking sleeve has a hollow cylindrical basic shape. The outer radius of the locking sleeve can then be smaller than the inner radius of the through-opening of the insulating body, so that the locking sleeve can be inserted into the through-opening of the insulating body during assembly and points toward the plug-in side.

[0036] In the assembled state, the locking sleeve can be arranged, in particular, in a force-fitting manner between the at least one locking element, in particular the at least one locking arm, and an inner side of the through-opening of the insulating body. The locking sleeve thus prevents the at least one locking element from moving outward, i.e., toward the said inner side of the through-opening, and thus prevents the locking element from moving from the position that locks the plug contact to the position that unlocks it.

[0037] In a further preferred embodiment, the retaining plate itself can be latched to the insulating body in two different positions, namely a placement position and a locking position. In the placement position, the plug contact can be inserted into the contact carrier on the connection side and initially latched to the locking element. The locking position corresponds to the assembled state, in which the plug contact is finally held securely in the contact carrier. In this assembled state (locking position), the contact carrier can thus absorb particularly high insertion forces.

[0038] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the holding plate can have two fastening plates for this purpose, which are arranged on two opposite sides of the base plate at right angles to the latter. For the purpose of the aforementioned multi-stage locking, two locking windows, namely a first locking window and a second locking window, can be arranged on each fastening plate. The insulating body can have an outwardly opening recess on each of two opposite outer sides, which adjoin the connection side and run in the direction of the plug-in side and are delimited by two outer webs. One of the fastening plates of the holding plate can then be inserted into the respective recess, in particular with a precise fit between the webs, for mounting the contact carrier.In the area of ​​the recess, two locking formations are arranged on the respective outer side of the insulating body, corresponding to the locking windows of the fastening plates and offset from one another in the plug-in direction, namely a first and a second locking formation.

[0039] In a particularly preferred embodiment, the contact carrier with the plug-in contact can be assembled as follows: When the fastening plates of the retaining plate are inserted into the recesses of the insulating body, the first locking recess of the insulating body initially engages in the second locking window of the respective fastening plate. In this state, the retaining plate on the insulating body is in its assembly position.

[0040] The plug contact, which can be a pin or socket contact, for example, can be crimped onto a stranded electrical conductor of an electrical cable on the connection side. The plug contact can then be inserted, with its mating area first, through the insertion opening of the holding plate into the through-hole of the insulating body and locked into its final assembly position. Any deeper insertion of the plug contact is prevented by its central collar striking at least one other internal formation. To lock into place, the locking arms of the insulating body engage behind the beveled central collar. In this state, the plug contact can still be removed from the contact carrier in the cable connection direction under the influence of a sufficiently high mating force from the mating side (or tensile force from the connection side).

[0041] The holding plate is now moved from its assembly position to its final locking position. The contact carrier is now finally mounted and the plug contact is fixed in its final assembly position in the contact carrier with the desired high holding force. For this purpose, the locking sleeve is arranged between the locking arms and the inside of the through-hole. The locking sleeve prevents the locking arms from moving outwards, i.e. towards the inside of the through-hole. The locking arms are therefore locked against a transition to their unlocking position. Despite the bevelled middle collar on the connection side, the plug contact cannot force the locking arms apart, even under the effect of high insertion forces. This means that it is held particularly securely in the contact carrier. The high insertion forces are absorbed, if necessary, by the insulating body on which the locking arms are arranged.This means that the retaining plate is not subjected to any unlocking / disassembling forces. Example

[0042] An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings and explained in more detail below. They show: Fig. 1 shows a plug-in contact; Fig. 2a shows an insulating body; Fig. 2b shows a retaining plate; Fig. 3 shows a contact carrier, comprising the insulating body and the retaining plate locked thereto in a mounting position, together with the plug-in contact to be inserted therein; Fig. 4a - c shows the fitted, assembled contact carrier from various external views; Fig. 5a, b shows the fitted, assembled contact carrier in two different cross-sectional views.

[0043] The figures contain partially simplified, schematic representations. In some cases, identical reference symbols are used for identical, but possibly not identical, elements. Different views of identical elements may be scaled differently.

[0044] The Fig.1 shows a plug contact 1 known from the prior art. In the present example, it is designed as a pin contact, since its plug-in area is formed by a contact pin 11. In another embodiment, a socket contact can be used in the same way, which differs only in that its plug-in area is designed as a contact socket.

[0045] The plug contact 1 has a cable connection area designed as a crimp connection 12. The plug contact 1 is therefore also referred to in technical terms as a "crimp contact." The crimp connection 12 is sleeve-shaped, namely hollow cylindrical, and thus has a cylindrical crimp opening 120, and has a connection-side collar 14 at its free-standing end.

[0046] This plug contact 1 could be held by its terminal-side collar 14 on various contact carriers provided for this purpose in the prior art, which are referred to below as "conventional" contact carriers, to absorb the mating forces acting in the connection direction. However, this would result in structural disadvantages due to the varying elongation of its crimp terminal 12 depending on the crimping method, which will be explained in more detail below.

[0047] A central collar 13 is arranged between the plug-in area 11 and the crimp connection 12. The central collar 13, together with the connection-side collar 14, serves to guide the plug contact 1 within the respective contact carrier and, in doing so, to center the contact pin 11, e.g., in a hollow-cylindrical through-opening of the contact carrier. Furthermore, the central collar 13 has a plug-side retaining surface 131. This can prevent the plug contact 1 from penetrating too deeply into the respective contact carrier toward one of the plug sides during insertion, e.g., when inserting the plug contact 1 or due to pulling forces.

[0048] If the elongation experienced by the crimp terminal 12 during crimping is somewhat shorter than expected, the plug contact 1 in the conventional contact carrier has a correspondingly large amount of play in the plugging direction. If the elongation is greater than expected, difficulties may arise when fitting the conventional contact carrier with the plug contacts 1, namely if the crimped crimp terminal 12 no longer fits into the section of the conventional contact carrier intended for its reception.

[0049] To enable / facilitate removal of the plug contact 1 from the conventional contact carrier, the central collar 13 also has a connection-side bevel 132. For manufacturing reasons, the plug-side retaining surface 131 is also beveled in the present embodiment, although this is not significant for the following considerations. The connection-side collar 14, on the other hand, does not require a connection-side bevel, as it is already located on a connection side of the conventional contact carrier and therefore does not present any significant resistance to its removal due to tilting or similar.

[0050] For the aforementioned reasons, the contact carrier K according to the invention, which is presented below, is intended to hold the plug contact 1 on both sides at its central collar 13, on the one hand in order to avoid the above-described problem of inaccurate elongation of the crimp connection 12 and, on the other hand, to ensure particularly precise and stable guidance of the plug contact 1.

[0051] For this purpose, an arrangement is used which has a Fig. 2a shown insulating body 2 and one in the Fig. 2b shown holding plate 3.

[0052] The one in the Fig.2aThe insulating body shown is essentially cuboid-shaped. It has a centrally arranged cylindrical through-opening 20 and two recesses 28 with a rectangular cross-section, which begin on the connection side and run in the plug-in direction on two opposite sides of the insulating body 2. Each of the two recesses 28 is delimited by two lateral webs, which are not provided with reference symbols for reasons of clarity. In these two recesses 28, two locking formations 284, 284', namely a first locking formation 284 and a second locking formation 284', are arranged offset from one another in the plug-in direction. These each have a sliding bevel and a locking arm, which are not provided with a reference symbol for reasons of clarity.

[0053] In the through-opening 20, four retaining elements 231 and four locking elements 232 are formed in alternating sequence on a circumferential inner collar 23. The locking elements are locking arms 232, which protrude into the through-opening 20 to lock the central collar 13 of the plug contact 1 with locking lugs 2322 formed thereon.

[0054] The holding elements 231 each have a holding section 2311 in order to hold the plug contact 1 on its plug-side holding surface 131 of its central collar 13 and thus prevent the plug contact 1 from moving deeper in the direction of a plug-in side S of the contact carrier K.

[0055] For reasons of clarity, the circumferential inner collar 23 as well as the holding section 2311 and the locking lugs 2322 are not provided with a reference symbol in this illustration. However, these are shown in the Fig. 5a and 5b also clearly visible in their respective functions and labeled accordingly.

[0056] The Fig. 2b shows a holding plate 3. This has a rectangular base plate 32 with an insertion opening 330, which extends through a hollow cylindrical locking sleeve 33 formed on the base plate 32.

[0057] On two opposite sides of the base plate 32, a fastening plate 38 is formed at right angles to each other. For multi-stage locking, two locking windows 384, namely a first locking window 384 and a second locking window 384', are arranged on each fastening plate 38. To construct the contact carrier K, the fastening plates 38 can be inserted, in particular with a precise fit, between the lateral webs into the recesses 28 of the insulating body 2, whereby the locking windows 384, 384' lock onto the locking formations 284, 284'. At the same time, the locking sleeve 33 can be inserted into the through-opening 20.

[0058] The Fig. 3shows the contact carrier K, which has the insulating body 2 and the holding plate 3 latched thereto in a fitting position, whereby the contact carrier is in a fitting state. In this fitting state of the contact carrier K, the plug contact 1 can be inserted into the contact carrier K from the connection side A. Typically, the pin contact 1 is previously crimped to its crimp connection 12 with an electrical stranded conductor (not shown in the drawing). In the fitting state, the first locking windows 384 of the holding plate 3 latch onto the second locking projections 284' of the insulating body 2. In this state, the locking sleeve 33 is only partially inserted into the through-opening 20 and, in this position, does not yet lock its locking arms 223 against movement into their unlocking position. In this state, the plug contact 1 can be inserted into the contact carrier K from the direction of the connection side A.

[0059] The connection side A and the plug-in side S are opposite each other. Opposite, the contact carrier K has a plug-in side S. By a further movement of the holding plate 3 in the plug-in direction, ie in the direction of this plug-in side S, the first locking window 384 locks onto the first locking formation 284 and the second locking window 384' locks onto the second locking formation 284', as shown in the Fig. 4a The retaining plate 3 is then in its locking position. The contact carrier K is then in its assembled state together with the inserted plug contact 1, whereby in this illustration only the connection-side collar 14 of the plug contact 1 is visible.

[0060] The Fig. 4b shows the mounted contact carrier K with a view of the plug-in side S.

[0061] The Fig. 4c shows the mounted contact carrier K with a view of the connection side A.

[0062] The Fig. 5a and 5bshow the assembled contact carrier K in cross section through the holding elements 231 or through the locking arms 232.

[0063] From the Fig. 5a It can be seen that the plug contact 1 is secured with the holding surface 131 of its central collar 13 on the holding section 2311 of the holding elements 231 against its deeper insertion in the direction of the plug-in side S. Furthermore, it can be clearly seen that the holding elements 231 are formed on the circumferential inner collar 23 of the insulating body 2.

[0064] From the Fig. 5b it can be seen how the locking arms 232 with their locking lugs 2322 in their locking state fasten the plug contact 1 to the connection-side bevel 132 of its central collar 13 against movement in the direction of the connection side A.

[0065] The locking sleeve 33 is arranged in a force-fitting manner between the locking arm 232 and an inner side of the through-opening 20 of the insulating body 2. The locking sleeve 33 thus prevents the locking arms 232 from moving outward, i.e., toward the said inner side of the through-opening 20, and thus prevents the locking arms 232 from moving from the position in which the plug contact 1 is locked to the position in which it is unlocked.

[0066] Without the locking sleeve 33, the plug contact 1 could easily push the locking arms 232 apart with its connection-side bevel 132 under the effect of plugging forces which push it in the direction of the connection side A.

[0067] By means of the locking sleeve 33 which is fully inserted into the insulating body 2, the plug contact 1 is fixed in its final assembly position in the contact carrier 2 with the desired high holding force. For this purpose, the locking sleeve 33 is arranged between the locking arms 232 and the inside of the insulating body 2 (i.e. its through-opening 20). As a result, the locking sleeve 33 prevents an outward movement of the locking arms 323, i.e. towards the inside of the insulating body 2. The locking arms 323 are thus locked against a transition into their unlocking position. Despite the connection-side bevel 132 of its central collar 13, the plug contact cannot force the locking arms 232 apart, even under the effect of high insertion forces. It is thus held particularly securely in the contact carrier K. The high insertion forces are absorbed, if necessary, by the insulating body 2, onto which the locking arms 232 are integrally formed on the inside.Thus, the retaining plate 3 does not experience any unlocking / disassembling forces.

[0068] Although various aspects or features of the invention are shown in combination in the figures, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art—unless otherwise stated—that the illustrated and discussed combinations are not the only possible ones. In particular, corresponding units or feature complexes from different embodiments can be interchanged. List of reference symbols

[0069] 1Plug contact 11Mating area, contact pin 12Cable connection area, crimp connection 120Crimp opening 13Middle collar 131Mating-side holding surface 132Termination-side chamfer 14Termination-side collar 2Insulating body 20Through opening 23Circumferential inner collar 231Retaining element 2311Retaining section 232Locking element, locking arm 2322Locking lug 28Recess 284, 284'First, second locking formation 3Retaining plate 32Base plate 33Locking element, locking sleeve 330Insertion opening 38Mounting plate 384, 384'first, second locking window KContact carrier AConnection side SSocket side

Claims

1. Contact carrier (K), suitable for receiving and fastening a plug contact (1), which has a crimp connection (12) and a central collar (13) having a connection-side chamfer (132), wherein the contact carrier (K) has a mating side (S) and, on the opposite side, a connection side (A) and wherein the contact carrier (K) comprises an insulating body (2) and a holding plate (3) which can be mounted thereon on the connection side, and furthermore has at least one latching element (232), which, in the unmounted state, can assume both a position of latching the plug contact (1) in place at its central collar (13) and a position of releasing the plug contact (1) from the latched connection, wherein the latching element (232) is a component of the insulating body (2) and in that the holding plate (3) has at least one locking element (33) which, in the mounted state, fixes the at least one latching element (232) in its position of latching the plug contact (1) in place and therefore prevents its transfer from the latching position into the latching-release position, wherein the locking element is a locking sleeve (33) which, in the mounted state, is force-fittingly arranged between the at least one latching element (232) and an inner surface of a through-opening (20) of the insulating body (2), wherein the at least one latching element is a respective latching arm (232) which is integrally formed on the inner surface of a circumferential inner collar (23) of the through-opening (20) of the insulating body (2), wherein the insulating body (2) comprises at least two latching arms (232) for latching the inserted plug contact (1) in place against a movement of the plug contact (1) in the direction of the connection side (A) of the contact carrier (K), characterized in that the contact carrier (K) furthermore has at least two holding elements (231) which are integrally formed on the circumferential inner collar (23) of the through-opening (20) of the insulating body (2), wherein the holding elements (231) each have a holding portion (2311) with which they project into the interior of the through-opening (20) in order to prevent a deeper movement of the plug contact (1) in the direction of the mating side (S) of the contact carrier (K).

2. Contact carrier (K) according to Claim 1, wherein the latching arm (232) has a latching lug (2322) with which it projects into the interior of the through-opening (20) and which serves to latch the pin contact (1) in place at its central collar (13).

3. Contact carrier (K) according to either of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holding plate (3) can be latched on the insulating body (2) in two different positions, namely in an assembly position and a locking position, wherein, in the assembly position, the plug contact (1) can be inserted and latched in the contact carrier (K) on the connection side (A), and wherein the locking position corresponds to the mounted state in which the latching element (232), by means of the locking element (33), is fixed in its position of latching the plug contact (1) in place and as a result the plug contact (1) is finally held stably in the contact carrier (K).

4. Contact carrier (K) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the holding plate (3) has at least one fastening plate (38) with two latching windows (384, 384'), namely a first latching window (384) and a second latching window (384'), and in that the outer surface of the insulating body (2) comprises at least two integrally formed latching portions (284, 284') corresponding thereto, namely at least a first integrally formed latching portion (284) and at least a second integrally formed latching portion (284'), and in that the holding plate (3) is in the assembly position when the at least one fastening plate (38) latches on the second integrally formed latching portion (284') by means of its first latching window (384), and in that the holding plate (3) is in its locking position when the first latching window (384) latches on the first integrally formed latching portion (284) and the second latching window (384') latches on the second integrally formed latching portion (284').

5. Contact carrier (K) according to Claim 4, characterized in that the holding plate (3) has a square or at least rectangular base plate (32) with an insertion opening (330) for inserting the plug contact (1), and in that a respective fastening plate (38) extending at right angles to the base plate (32) is arranged on two mutually opposite sides of the base plate (32), wherein these two fastening plates (38) face in the same direction as the at least one locking element (33).

6. Method for mounting a plug contact (1) in a contact carrier (K) according to one of Claims 1 to 5, characterized by the following steps: A. latching the holding plate (3) in place on the insulating body (2) in its assembly position; B. inserting the plug contact (1) into the insulating body (2), which plug contact is crimped to an electrical stranded conductor on the connection side; C. detachably latching the plug contact (1) in place on the at least one latching element (232), by means of its chamfered central collar (13); D. moving the holding plate (3) from its assembly position into its final locking position; E. fixing the at least one latching element (232) in its latching position by means of the locking element (33) of the holding plate (3); F. particularly stably holding the plug contact (1) in the contact carrier (K) and absorbing, by means of the insulating body (2), high mating forces acting on the plug contact (1).