HYBRID CONTACT WITH LABEL CARRIER

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a hybrid contact with a first contact part made of solid metal and a second contact part in the form of a stamped / bent part, which are connected to each other in a press fit.

[0002] A hybrid contact of this type is known from EP 0 106 992 A1 and is used, for example, to connect a stripped end of an electrically conductive wire to a connector. The first contact part can be a turned metal part, either in the shape of a contact pin or a contact socket, and is inserted into a matching connector. The second contact part can, for example, be a crimp sleeve punched and bent or rolled from sheet metal, which can be crimped onto the stripped end of the wire. The first contact part has a hollow cylindrical receiving section at the rear end facing the crimp sleeve, into which a roughly C-shaped connecting section of the crimp sleeve can be inserted. A stamping pin, which is tapered at the free end, can be pressed concentrically into the receiving sleeve.After the connecting portion of the crimp sleeve has been inserted into the receiving sleeve, the die pin is pressed in, causing the connecting portion to be expanded by the tapered end of the die pin and pressed against the inner surface of the receiving sleeve. Finally, the receiving portion is held in a press fit between the die pin and the wall of the receiving sleeve.

[0003] If a bundle of conductors consisting of several wires is to be connected to the connector, it is often useful to attach a label to each individual wire on which the function of the wire in question can be indicated and how it should be connected correctly.

[0004] Known label carriers, for example in the form of a sign with two eyelets, are attached to a section of the wire using a cable tie, for example.

[0005] The object of the invention is to simplify the attachment of label carriers to the wires.

[0006] This object is achieved according to the invention in that a filament connected to a label carrier is fixed in the press fit on the contact parts.

[0007] The filament, for example a textile thread attached to the label carrier, is applied to the second contact part in such a way that, when the press fit is created, one end of the filament is squeezed between the contact parts' adjacent structures, thus holding it in place. This allows the label carrier to be securely and stably attached to the hybrid contact, which in turn is attached to the stripped end of the wire. When the wire is connected to the connector, the hybrid contact, with the attached end of the filament, is inserted into a contact opening in the connector. The label carrier then hangs loosely from an end of the filament protruding from the contact opening.

[0008] If multiple wires connected to the same connector each have a marker, the markers hanging loosely on the filaments do not get in the way when the wires are bundled together. However, by tracking the filament, it is possible to clearly assign each marker to the corresponding wire.

[0009] Advantageous embodiments and further developments of the invention are specified in the subclaims.

[0010] If the press fit between the two contact parts of the hybrid contact is produced in the manner described above with the aid of a stamping pin, one end of the filament is inserted into the fastening section of the crimp sleeve in such a way that it rests against the inner surface and / or the outer surface of this fastening section and, after the stamping pin has been pressed in, is clamped between this stamping pin and the fastening section and / or between the fastening section and the inner surface of the receiving sleeve.

[0011] Optionally, the filament can be crimped in when the crimp sleeve is subsequently crimped onto the wire, so that the tensile strength of the filament attachment is further increased.

[0012] The label carrier is, for example, a strip made of plastic which either has a writable surface itself or onto which a cover element can be pushed, forming the writable surface.

[0013] The filament can optionally be a thin plastic thread formed in one piece with the label carrier. In this case, the filament can also have a thickened portion or an eyelet at the free end, which allows for temporary attachment of the filament to an eyelet or hook of the second contact part before the final attachment is made during the press fit process.

[0014] In the following, examples of implementation are explained in more detail using the drawing.

[0015] They show: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of two hybrid contacts according to the invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are separate views of parts of the two hybrid contacts according to Fig. 1 ; Fig. 4 shows two mutually facing ends of two contact parts in an axial section and a plan view; Fig. 5 shows a contact part according to another embodiment in plan view; Fig. 6 shows an exploded view of a label carrier attached to one end of an electrically conductive wire and of a cover element for the label carrier; and Fig. 7 shows a perspective view of an end of a conductive wire connected to a plug contact and provided with a label carrier.

[0016] In Fig. 1 Two hybrid contacts 10 are shown, each having a first contact part, hereinafter referred to as contact pin 12, and a second contact part, hereinafter referred to as crimp sleeve 14, which are mechanically and electrically connected to one another in a press fit.

[0017] While the contact pins 12 are turned parts made of metal, the crimp sleeves 14 are formed by punched / bent parts made of sheet metal, which are Fig. 1 shown state are still part of a contact strip 16, which carries a basically endless sequence of hybrid contacts 10, which are connected to a carrier strip 20 via predetermined breaking points 18. The carrier strip 20 has a transport opening 22 for the strip transport between each two consecutive crimp sleeves 14.

[0018] Each crimp sleeve 14 forms two crimp wings 24, which are in the Fig., 1 shown state, diverge in a V-shape and are later closed in a crimping machine around the stripped end 26 of an electrically conductive wire 28. Adjacent to the crimping wings 24 are two strain relief wings 30, which in Fig. 1 also diverge in a V-shape and are later closed in the crimping machine around an insulation 32 of the wire 28.

[0019] A label carrier 36 is attached to each hybrid contact 10 by means of a filament 34. In the example shown, the label carrier 36 is a flat, elongated plastic strip onto which a labeled cover element 38 can be pushed. The filament 34 can be, for example, a textile thread or a thin plastic thread formed in one piece with the label carrier 36. In either case, one end of the filament 34 is connected to the label carrier 36, while the other end is pressed in and thus securely fixed in a zone in which the contact pin 12 and the crimp sleeve 14 are connected to one another in a press fit.

[0020] In Fig. 2 the two contact pins 12 are made of Fig, 1 shown separately. Each contact pin has a receiving sleeve 40 at the rear end facing the crimp sleeve 14.

[0021] In Fig. 3 The contact strip 16 with the crimp sleeves 14 is shown separately. Each crimp sleeve 12 forms a fastening section 46 at the front end, which adjoins the pair of crimp wings 24 and has an approximately C-shaped profile. A firm mechanical connection and, at the same time, a secure electrical connection between the contact pin 12 and the associated crimp sleeve 14 is established by the fastening section 46 of the crimp sleeve being pressed onto the crimp sleeve with a stamping pin 42 ( Fig. 4 ) is fixed in the receiving sleeve 40. The fastening section 46 is widened by the stamping pin 42 and pressed against the inner circumferential surface of the receiving sleeve 40.

[0022] In Fig. 4 The rear end of one of the contact pins 12 is shown in an axial section. At the same time, a front end section of the fastening section 46 is shown in a position in the receiving sleeve 40 in the top view. The embossing pin 42 is pressed into the fastening section 46 and widens it. The legs of the fastening section 46 are spread and pressed against the inner surface of the receiving sleeve 40. The filament 34 is inserted into the C-profile of the fastening section 46 and guided around the front end of this fastening section to the outside. When the embossing pin is pressed in, a portion of the filament 34 is squeezed between the embossing pin 42 and the inner surface of the fastening section 46, while another portion is squeezed between the outer surface of the fastening section 46 and the inner surface of the receiving sleeve 40. In this way, a tensile-resistant fixation of the filament 34 to the hybrid contact is achieved.

[0023] Fig. 5 shows a top view of a crimp sleeve 14' in a slightly modified embodiment. Here, it can be seen that the fastening section 46 tapers slightly towards the front end. In this example, a guide notch 48 for the filament 34 is formed in the front edge of this fastening section. Before the fastening section 46 is pressed into the receiving sleeve 40, the filament 34 can be held, for example, in a vertical orientation between two grippers located above and below the fastening section. When the crimp sleeve 14' is then moved axially toward the receiving sleeve 40, the filament is securely held in the guide notch 48 so that it does not slip off the end of the fastening section. As soon as the filament is clamped between the embossing pin 42, the fastening section 46, and the inner surface of the receiving sleeve, the grippers are released so that the filament can be taken deeper into the annular gap 44.

[0024] Fig. 6 shows a single hybrid contact 10 with wire 28 and label carrier 36 after completion of the crimping process. The crimping wings 24 and the pull-release wings 30 are now tightly closed around the wire 28 and also enclose parts of the filament 34. The cover element 38, which can be pushed onto the label carrier 36 with its flanged edges, is in Fig. 6 shown separately from the label carrier. The cover element has locking protrusions 50 on the inside, which, after the cover profile has been pushed onto the label carrier 36, engage locking holes 52 in this label carrier, thus fixing the cover element axially to the label carrier. In this embodiment, the label carrier 36 does not need to be made of a writable material. Instead, the cover element 38 is labeled, so that the label can be easily replaced if necessary.

[0025] In another embodiment, the label can be printed on a narrow strip of paper, which is then inserted into the cover element 38 and slid onto the label carrier 36 together with the cover element. In this case, the cover element 38 is made of transparent material, so that the label is visible through the cover element. The locking bumps 50 can be omitted in this case, making it easier to insert the paper strip.

[0026] In Fig. 7An end section of a connector 54 is shown, which has a plurality of contact openings 56 arranged in a regular grid on one end face. Each contact opening 56 accommodates a socket (not shown), into which one of the hybrid contacts 10 can be inserted. The end of the wire 28, to which this hybrid contact is attached, and the filament 34 of the label carrier 30 then protrude from the contact opening. The width of the label carriers 30 is dimensioned such that the label carriers can be arranged side by side in a clearly visible manner when each of the contact openings 56 accommodates a wire.

[0027] The flexibility of the filaments 34 also allows the label carriers to be arranged at a greater distance from the corresponding wires if the wires are to be bundled tightly.

Claims

1. Hybrid contact (10) having a first contact portion (12) which is formed in a solid manner from metal and a second contact portion (14) in the form of a punched / bent component which are connected to each other by means of a press-fit, characterized in that that the hybrid contact (10) has a label carrier (36) and a filament (34) connected to the label carrier (36), which filament is fixed to the contact portions (12, 14) in the press-fit.

2. Hybrid contact according to Claim 1, wherein one (12) of the contact portions has a receiving sleeve (40) and the other contact portion (14) has a securing portion (46) which can be pressed into the receiving sleeve (40).

3. Hybrid contact according to Claim 2, wherein the first contact portion (12) has the receiving sleeve (40) and the securing portion (46) which is formed on the second contact portion (14) has a C-shaped profile.

4. Hybrid contact according to Claim 3, wherein there is arranged coaxially in the receiving sleeve (40) an urging pin (42) which forms with the receiving sleeve an annular gap (44) and which tapers toward the free end, and wherein the securing portion (46) is expanded by the urging pin (42) and pressed against the receiving sleeve.

5. Hybrid contact according to Claim 3 or 4, wherein a portion of the filament (34) is held in a press-fit between the securing portion (46) and the inner circumferential face of the receiving sleeve (40).

6. Hybrid contact according to Claim 4, wherein a portion of the filament (34) is held in a press-fit between the urging pin (42) and the securing portion (46).

7. Hybrid contact according to Claim 3, wherein the second contact portion (14) is a crimp sleeve which surrounds a portion of the filament (34).

8. Hybrid contact according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the label carrier (36) is a material strip on which a covering element (38) can be releasably fitted.