Plug-in connector system

Abstract

According to the invention, in order to equip a commercially available high-current-capable plug-in connector system, comprising an add-on plug-in connector (1) and a mating plug connector (2), with an RFID system, a transponder antenna (32) is arranged in or on the socket housing (21) of the mating plug connector (2) and also to fit a reader antenna (31) as an encircling coil around the contact carrier (12) of the add-on plug-in connector (1) in or on the add-on plug-in connector (1).

Description

[0001] Title: Connector system

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention is based on a connector system according to the preamble of independent claim 1.

[0004] Such connector systems typically comprise at least one panel connector and one mating connector, as well as an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system, and can be used, among other things, to identify the mating connector by the panel connector. This also enables monitoring of a device connected to the mating connector on the cable connection side by the panel connector or by an electrical device to which the panel connector is attached. In particular, this allows for so-called "access control," meaning that only approved devices can be operated with their mating connectors on designated panel connectors—and thus on their respective electrical devices. These connector systems can, in particular, be high-current capable.The term “high-current capable” means that the panel connectors and mating connectors are designed for currents of more than 16 A (“amperes”), e.g. at least 24 A, in particular at least 32 A, preferably at least 48 A and more, e.g. for 56 A and more.

[0005] State of the art

[0006] Intelligent sockets, also called "smart sockets," are known in the prior art, for example from document DE 102015 009 361 A1. These intelligent sockets are typically used between an electrical supply network, preferably a 220V AC network, and an electrical device whose plug-in connector is connected to the socket receptacle of the adapter plug. This document further discloses that the plug of the electrical device to be plugged into the socket insert is equipped with a radio tag on which data relating to the device type of the electrical device to be connected to the intelligent socket is stored. The radio tag can be an RFID transponder or NFC transponder.

[0007] It is further disclosed that the intelligent socket is provided with a reader which enables communication between the radio tag and the reader when the plug is plugged in, in that the reader contactlessly detects a signal with modeled data regarding the device type of the electrical device plugged into the socket from its radio tag and transmits it to a remote data processing device.

[0008] A disadvantage of the known prior art is that there is no sufficiently inexpensive solution for integrating such RFID systems, especially NFC systems, into connector systems already available on the market. In particular, in the area of ​​high-current industrial connectors, there is a high demand for a simple and cost-effective solution for integrating such an RFID system into the respective panel-mounted connector. The term "high-current" means that the panel-mounted connectors are designed for currents of more than 16 A ("amperes"), e.g., at least 24 A, in particular at least 32 A, preferably at least 48 A and more, e.g., for 56 A and more.

[0009] The German Patent and Trademark Office has searched the following prior art in the priority application for the present application: DE 196 15221 A1 , DE 102005 022 281 A1 , DE 102005 044 918 A1 , DE 10 2006 030 077 A1 , DE 10 2020 111 610 A1 , US 2006 / 0 049 942 A1 , US 2006 / 0 072 271 A1 and WO 2014 / 037 586 A2.

[0010] The object of the invention is to provide a design for a connector system comprising a panel-mounted connector and a mating connector, which has an easily integrated RFID ("Radio Frequency Identification") system. The design for the RFID system should ensure reliable data transmission between an RFID reader of the panel-mounted connector and an RFID transponder of the mating connector. In particular, the design should prevent crosstalk between the aforementioned RFID system and other RFID systems of neighboring and more comparable connector systems as effectively as possible.

[0011] The problem is solved by the subject matter of independent claim 1.

[0012] The connector system comprises a panel-mounted connector and a mating connector. The panel-mounted connector has a panel-mounted housing with which it can be attached to a wall opening in the housing wall of a device housing of an electrical device. The panel-mounted connector further comprises a contact carrier and at least one plug contact accommodated in the contact carrier, which can be electrically connected on the connection side to an electrical conductor of a device cable of the electrical device. The mating connector has a sleeve housing to which another electrical cable can be fixed on the connection side. The mating connector has a mating contact carrier and at least one mating contact accommodated therein for the electrically conductive connection on the plug side to said plug contact of the panel-mounted connector.The mating contact can be electrically connected on the connection side to another electrical conductor of the other electrical cable.

[0013] The connector system has an RFID ("Radio Frequency Identification") system, in particular an NFC ("Near Field Communication") system. The RFID system has an RFID transponder, which is preferably an NFC ("Near Field Communication") transponder. The RFID transponder has a transponder microchip and a transponder antenna electrically connected to it. Furthermore, the RFID system has an RFID reader, which is preferably an NFC reader and has a reader microchip and a reader antenna electrically connected to the reader microchip.

[0014] The transponder microchip is mounted in or on the mating connector, in particular in or on the sleeve housing or the contact carrier of the mating connector. Furthermore, the transponder antenna, which is electrically connected to the transponder microchip, is mounted in or on the mating connector, in particular in or on the mounting housing of the mating connector.

[0015] Furthermore, the reader antenna, which is electrically connected to the RFID reader, is mounted in the form of a circumferential coil in or on the panel connector, in particular in or on the panel housing of the panel connector.

[0016] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims and the following description.

[0017] A particular advantage is that such an RFID system can be integrated into an existing high-current connector system. The term "high-current" refers to the connector system being designed to transmit currents of more than 16 A ("amperes"), e.g., at least 24 A, in particular at least 32 A, preferably at least 48 A and more, e.g., for 56 A and more.

[0018] A particular advantage of the invention is that even comparatively small add-on housings with diameters of less than 5 cm, preferably less than 4 cm, in particular even less than 3.5 cm, for example 3 cm and even less, can be used.

[0019] It is also particularly advantageous that existing connector systems can be retrofitted with such an RFID system, for example by designing the reader antenna as an inlay, e.g. in the form of a flexible printed circuit board, to which the coil is applied in the form of a conductor track.

[0020] Advantageously, it is possible to integrate the additional RFID / NFC functionality into various existing connector systems by adapting the dimensions of the reader antenna to the dimensions of the respective panel connector.

[0021] A particular advantage is that the positive properties of the respective connector system are retained, e.g. its sealing concept and thus its tightness against environmental influences such as dust, dirt and moisture.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the reader antenna has a coil axis that is aligned in the plugging direction.

[0023] In a further preferred embodiment, both the transponder antenna and the reader antenna are designed as magnetic field antennas.

[0024] In a further preferred embodiment, the transponder antenna is aligned parallel to the coil axis of the reader antenna in the plugging direction and is arranged in particular in extension of the coil edge.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment, the bulkhead housing and the contact carrier are constructed as a single piece. This is advantageous because it simplifies manufacturing. Furthermore, the arrangement of the RFID reader and its reader antenna is particularly flexible. In another advantageous embodiment, the contact carrier and the bulkhead housing are separate parts. This has the advantage that the connector housing can be made of a magnetically shielding material, which more effectively prevents crosstalk to RFID systems of neighboring connector systems of a similar design. At the same time, the contact carrier can be made of an electrically insulating material.

[0026] In an advantageous embodiment, the reader antenna designed as a circumferential coil can be fastened inside or outside the attachment housing in such a way that the coil follows the contour of the attachment housing around the contact carrier in a uniform circumferential manner.

[0027] In an advantageous embodiment, the reader antenna can be molded and / or overmolded into the contact carrier / bulkhead housing during the manufacturing process. In particular, the coil can be molded onto the surrounding seal or overmolded with the sealing material, i.e., arranged within the seal.

[0028] In a further preferred embodiment, the panel connector, in particular the panel housing or the contact carrier, has a circumferential groove into which a reader antenna, which as already mentioned is designed in the form of a coil, can be placed.

[0029] In a preferred embodiment, the add-on housing and / or the contact carrier are designed as 3D MID components. The reader antenna is then integrated or attached to the add-on housing or the contact carrier in the form of MID conductor tracks.

[0030] It is particularly advantageous that the reader antenna and the transponder antenna are protected from external environmental influences by the mounting housing. In an alternative embodiment, the reader antenna can be arranged outside the mounting housing.

[0031] In a further embodiment, the RFID transponder with its transponder antenna can be attached to the outside of the mating connector.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment, the reader microchip is arranged, in particular fastened, in or on the panel-mounted connector, in particular in or on the panel-mounted housing or the contact carrier of the panel-mounted connector.

[0033] Example

[0034] An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the drawings and explained in more detail below. They show:

[0035] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a connector system with an integrated RFID system;

[0036] Fig. 2 a 3D representation of a bulkhead housing of the connector system.

[0037] Some of the figures contain simplified, schematic representations. Identical reference symbols are used for similar, but possibly not identical, elements. Different views of the same elements may be scaled differently. Directional references such as "left," "right," "top," and "bottom" are to be understood with reference to the respective figure and may vary in the individual illustrations relative to the object depicted.

[0038] Fig. 1 shows a connector system having an integrated RFID ("Radio Frequency Identification") system, namely an NFC ("Near Field Communication") system. The connector system has a panel-mounted connector 1 and a mating connector 2. The panel-mounted connector 1 has a panel-mounted housing 11. The panel-mounted housing 11 has a mounting flange 115 for fastening to a housing wall (not shown) of a device housing of an electrical device. Furthermore, the panel-mounted connector 1 has a contact carrier 12 arranged in the panel-mounted housing and a plurality of plug contacts 13 received in the contact carrier 12, one of which is visible and labeled in the following figure.

[0039] Furthermore, several electrical conductors 53 are shown at the bottom of Fig. 1. These electrical conductors 53 belong to a device cable of the electrical device. Typically, each plug contact 13 is electrically connected to one of the electrical conductors 53.

[0040] The mating connector 2 has a sleeve housing 21, into which an additional electrical cable (not shown) can be inserted on the connection side (coming from above in the drawing). This additional electrical cable can be secured to the sleeve housing 21, e.g., by means of a cable gland.

[0041] The mating connector 2 further comprises a mating contact carrier (not shown for reasons of clarity) arranged in the sleeve housing 21 and at least one mating contact accommodated therein for the electrically conductive, namely plug-in, connection to the plug contact 13 of the panel-mounted connector 1. The mating contact can be electrically conductively connected on the connection side to a further electrical conductor of the further electrical cable.

[0042] The connector system has an RFID "Radio Frequency Identification" system specialized for near-field communication, namely an NFC ("Near Field Communication") system. It will be clear to those skilled in the art that everything said here about the NFC system also applies analogously to the RFID system in general. The NFC system has an NFC transponder and an NFC reader. The NFC transponder has a transponder microchip (not shown) and a transponder antenna 32 electrically connected thereto. The NFC reader has at least one reader microchip (not shown) and a reader antenna 31 electrically connected thereto.

[0043] The transponder microchip and the transponder antenna 32 are each mounted in or on the mating connector 2.

[0044] The reader antenna 31, shown here symbolically in cross-section, is mounted in the form of a circumferential coil in the add-on housing 1. Already here, but even better in the following illustration, it can be seen that the reader antenna 31, designed as a circumferential coil, is attached to the add-on housing 11 from the inside and thus follows a circumferential contour of the add-on housing 11 around the contact carrier 12. Here, the reader antenna 31 is led into the electrical device housing via an antenna connection cable 33, which is guided downwards in the drawing and in which, for example, the NFC reader can be arranged. Alternatively, the NFC reader can also be mounted in or on the add-on connector, which simplifies installation.

[0045] The transponder antenna 32 is arranged orthogonally to the reader antenna 31 and is thus in a rather unusual position.

[0046] In this case, however, the data transmission between the NFC transponder and the NFC reader is very good with this rather unusual arrangement, because its transponder antenna 32 is located, at least to a good approximation, in extension of the edge of the coil-shaped reader antenna 31. At this point, the magnetic field 34 runs almost optimally, because here the magnetic field lines 34 run perpendicular to the transponder antenna 32.

[0047] For this purpose, the transponder antenna 32 is aligned parallel to the coil axis of the reader antenna 31, and thus in the plugging direction, and is further attached in an extension of the coil edge, namely from the inside to the sleeve housing 21.

[0048] In Fig. 2, the arrangement of the reader antenna 31 in the add-on housing 11 is clearly visible in a 3D representation. In this case, the reader antenna 31 is designed as an inlay, in which the coil is formed from conductor tracks of a flexible printed circuit board. This inlay is glued into the add-on housing 11 from the inside in such a way that the reader antenna 31, thus designed as a circumferential coil, follows a circumferential contour of the add-on housing 11 around the contact carrier 12.

[0049] Furthermore, a plug contact 13 can be seen, which is located in a contact receptacle 120 of the contact carrier. The contact receptacle 120 is a through-hole in the contact carrier 12, so that the contact 13 can be electrically connected, i.e., connected, to the electrical conductor 53 of the device cable on the connection side (from below in the drawing).

[0050] Furthermore, a screw 7 is shown, which penetrates a screw hole in the mounting flange 115. On the opposite side, the mounting flange 15 has another screw 7, which penetrates another screw hole, but is not visible because it is covered by the connector housing. Thus, the mounting housing 11 can be screwed to the aforementioned housing wall of the device housing.

[0051] List of reference symbols

[0052] 1 panel connector

[0053] 11 Mounting housing

[0054] 115 Mounting flange

[0055] 12 contact carriers

[0056] 120 contact points / through openings

[0057] 13 Plug contact

[0058] 18 locking brackets

[0059] 2 mating connectors

[0060] 21 grommet housing

[0061] 31 Reader antenna

[0062] 32 Transponder antenna

[0063] 33 Antenna connection cable

[0064] 34 Magnetic field / magnetic field lines

[0065] 53 electrical conductors of the device cable

[0066] 7 screw

Claims

Claims Plug connector system, comprising a panel-mounted plug connector (1) and a mating plug connector (2), wherein the panel-mounted plug connector (1) has a panel-mounted housing (11) for fastening to a housing wall of a device housing of an electrical device and further comprises a contact carrier (12) and at least one plug contact (13) received in the contact carrier (12), which can be electrically conductively connected on the connection side to an electrical conductor (53) of a device cable of the electrical device, and wherein the mating plug connector (2) has a sleeve housing (21), to which a further electrical cable can be fixed on the connection side, and wherein the mating plug connector (2) has a mating contact carrier and at least one mating contact received therein for the electrically conductive connection on the plug side to said plug contact (13) of the panel-mounted plug connector (1),wherein the mating contact is electrically conductively connectable on the connection side to a further electrical conductor of the further electrical cable; wherein the connector system further comprises an RFID (“Radio Frequency Identification”) system, wherein the RFID system has an RFID transponder which has a transponder microchip and a transponder antenna (32) electrically conductively connected thereto, and wherein the RFID system further comprises an RFID reader which has at least one reader microchip and a reader antenna (31) electrically conductively connected thereto, wherein the transponder microchip and the transponder antenna (32) are each mounted in or on the sleeve housing (21), and wherein furthermore, the reader antenna (31) is mounted in the form of a circumferential coil in or on the panel-mounted connector (1). Connector system according to claim 1, wherein the reader antenna (31) is arranged circumferentially around the contact carrier (12). Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the reader antenna (31) designed as a circumferential coil is fastened inside or outside to the panel-mounted housing (11) and thus follows a circumferential contour of the panel-mounted housing (11) around the contact carrier (12). Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein both the transponder antenna (32) and the reader antenna (31) are each designed as a magnetic field antenna. Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the reader antenna (31) has a coil axis that is aligned in the plug-in direction.Connector system according to claim 5, wherein the transponder antenna (32) is aligned parallel to the coil axis of the reader antenna (31) in the plugging direction. Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the attachment housing (11) and the contact carrier (12) are formed integrally. Connector system according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the contact carrier (12) and the attachment housing (11) are separate parts, wherein the attachment housing (11) is made of a magnetically shielding material and the contact carrier (12) is made of an electrically insulating material. Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the reader antenna (31) is molded into or onto the attachment housing (11). Connector system according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the reader antenna (31) has a flexible printed circuit board to which the coil is applied in the form of a conductor track. Connector system according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the attachment housing (11) or the contact carrier (12) has a circumferential groove in which the reader antenna (31) is arranged. Connector system In a preferred embodiment, the attachment housing (11) and / or the contact carrier (12) is designed as a 3D-MID (Molded Interconnect Device) component. Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the transponder antenna (32) is aligned orthogonally to the reader antenna (31) when the system is plugged in.Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the reader microchip is arranged in or on the panel-mounted connector (1), in particular in or on the panel-mounted housing (11) or the contact carrier (12) of the panel-mounted connector (1). Connector system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the RFID system is an NFC ("Near Field Communication") system, i.e., the RFID transponder is an NFC transponder and the RFID reader is an NFC reader.

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