Connector

Abstract

The present invention relates to a connector for electrically connecting two elementary cells of a battery pack. More particularly, the connector according to the present invention is configured to electrically connect the terminals of two adjacent elementary cells.

Description

connector FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of batteries, and more particularly to connectors intended to be used to electrically connect elementary cells of a battery pack. In particular, the present invention relates to a connector provided with a locking member also providing a “good” connection indicator function. TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] An inter-battery connector known from the state of the art is described in document EP3358647.

[0003] In particular, and as illustrated in document EP3358647, this device comprises a U-shaped connection clip defining a U-shaped channel into which a connection tab of a battery can be inserted and held by the spring effect of the connection clip.

[0004] The connector also comprises a movable element capable of adopting either a disengaged position or an engaged position, and which is provided with at least one wedge engaged in the U-shaped channel.

[0005] The wedge is in particular arranged so that the connecting clip has a spacing dependent on the position of the movable element. In this regard, the disengaged position and the engaged position are positions of the movable element for which the wedge imposes on the wings of the connecting clip, respectively, a first spacing and a second spacing less than the first spacing.

[0006] Thus, when connecting the connector to a connection tab of a battery, the movable element is initially in its disengaged position in order to provide sufficient spacing (the first spacing) of the wings of the connection clip and thus allow the insertion of the connection tab into the U-shaped channel. This insertion is then followed by a movement of the movable element from its disengaged position to its engaged position so that the wings of the connection clip tighten against the tab and hold the latter by spring effect.

[0007] Although easy to use, this device is not satisfactory.

[0008] Indeed, the connection clip proposed in document EP3358647 remains bulky and in certain aspects difficult to use when it comes to implementing it when the working space is limited.

[0009] Thus, an aim of the present invention is to provide a less bulky connector. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The aim is achieved by a connector for electrically connecting a terminal of an elementary cell of a battery pack, said terminal being projecting relative to an area of ​​said elementary cell called the connection area, the connector comprising:

[0011] - a male housing provided with a main body forming a housing, called a male housing, accessible through an opening, called a male opening, formed on a lower face of the main body;

[0012] - a female housing intended to be fixed to the connection zone by one of its faces, called the contact face, and so as to form a housing, called the female housing, in which the terminal is housed, the female housing comprising an insertion opening on one of its faces, called the insertion face, the female housing being generally conforming to the main body so as to allow the insertion of said main body, by its lower face, into the female housing, and the retention by snap-fastening of said male housing, in a position, called the snap-fastened position;

[0013] - a connection member, arranged in the male housing, intended to form a contact with the terminal when the main body is in its snap-in position;

[0014] - a locking member, in sliding connection or in pivot connection with the female housing, and capable of adopting, according to a sliding movement or according to a rotational movement, one or the other of a locked position and an unlocked position, the unlocked position being a position for which the locking member authorizes the insertion of the main body into the female housing to adopt its snap-fastened position, the locked position being a position for which the locking member locks the main body in its snap-fastened position.

[0015] According to one embodiment, in which the male housing forms a rectangular parallelepiped, while the female housing comprises four side walls, the insertion face being opposite the contact face.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the main body comprises four lateral faces, and the male housing also comprises a secondary body, in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, surmounting the main body by a face opposite the lower face, the secondary body having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, one face of the secondary body, called the secondary section, extends in a coplanar manner one of the lateral faces called the main section, the main section and the secondary section together forming a snap-fastening face carrying snap-fastening means, and intended to cooperate with complementary snap-fastening means carried by the female housing.

[0017] According to one embodiment, the complementary latching means are carried by a side wall, called the latching wall, of the female housing opposite the latching face.

[0018] According to one embodiment, the snap-fastening wall comprises, in a direction perpendicular to the contact face, called the sliding direction, and from said contact face, a first part, an intermediate part and a second part carrying the complementary snap-fastening means, the lateral edges of the intermediate part and of the second part being free in order to allow a bending of the second part around an axis perpendicular to the sliding direction and included in the intermediate part, during the operation of snap-fastening the male housing with the female housing.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the locking member is formed by a single-piece part in sliding connection according to a guiding mode held by means of at least one rail, each rail among the at least one rail, extending in the sliding direction from the contact face, is discontinuous at the intermediate part and comprises a first portion and a second portion carried respectively by the first part and the second part, the locking member, when it is in its locked position, is engaged in one and the other of the first portion and the second portion of the at least one rail so as to mechanically secure the first part and the second part, while when it is in its unlocked position, the locking member is engaged exclusively in the second portion of the at least one rail.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the locking member is configured to be snapped against the second section when it is in its unlocked position, and against the first section, and against the first section when it is in its locked position.

[0021] According to one embodiment, the locking member, in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, comprises a base bearing on one of its faces called the guide face, at least one counter-rail cooperating with the at least one rail, the base being furthermore surmounted, by one of its faces opposite the guide face, by two side walls and a thrust wall.

[0022] According to one embodiment, the main body comprises two pins each arranged on a different lateral face, adjacent to the main section, called guide faces, the two pins being configured to be guided towards an insertion position, by guide means formed on two lateral walls adjacent to the snap-in wall, and called guide walls, the insertion position being a position for which the male housing is in the snap-in position, the two pins also being configured to cooperate with the locking member so that, when it is in its locking position, said locking member locks the pins in their insertion position.

[0023] According to one embodiment, the guiding means of a guide wall comprise a guiding notch which extends from a guiding inlet, at the insertion face, towards the contact face, to end with an end, called the stop end, at a distance from the contact face, the guiding notches being configured so that when the main body is inserted into the female housing, each pin is engaged in a guiding notch to be guided along said guiding notch to its insertion position.

[0024] According to one embodiment, each pin, once it is engaged in a guide notch, comprises an end portion projecting relative to the guide wall carrying the guide notch in question, and intended to cooperate with the locking member.

[0025] According to one embodiment, the locking member, in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, comprises four walls arranged around the side walls of the female housing, the locking member being arranged to slide between one and the other of the locked position and the unlocked position in a direction perpendicular to the guide notches and included in a plane defined by one or the other of the guide walls, two walls of the locking member, called locking walls and each facing a guide wall, being configured to each cooperate with the terminal portion of a pin so that when the locking member is in its unlocked position, each pin can be guided freely in a guide notch, and so that when the locking member is in its locked position, each pin is locked in its insertion position.

[0026] According to one embodiment, each locking wall comprises on an internal face, a guide trench which extends from a first end towards a second end and parallel to the guide notches, each locking wall also comprises an oblong hole which extends perpendicular to the guide trench and from the second end of said guide trench towards a third end, the guide trench being arranged so that, when the locking member is in its unlocked position, said guide trench is opposite one of the guide notches and makes it possible to guide the terminal portion of a pin, from the first end to the second end, and to make the pin adopt its insertion position, the oblong hole being arranged so that when the locking member passes from its unlocked position to its locked position,the terminal portion is guided from the second end to the third end so as to lock the terminal portion in its insertion position.,

[0027] According to one embodiment, the guide walls each comprise a flared edge, each flared edge partly providing the sliding connection between the female housing and the locking member.

[0028] According to one embodiment, each guide wall comprises at one of its edges, in contact with a flared edge, a holding lever, the holding lever being adapted to cooperate with a boss formed on the flared edge, and to allow the locking member to be held in either the locking position or the unlocking position.

[0029] According to one embodiment, the connection member comprises at least one clip, the at least one clip comprising a base from which extend, and in a manner essentially symmetrical with respect to the base, two wings, between which the terminal, of planar shape, is intended to be inserted when the main body is in its snap-fastened position.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the connection member comprises a contact section, housed in a housing, called a connecting housing, arranged in the extension of the secondary body by one of its faces, opposite the second section.

[0031] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from the detailed description which follows with reference to the appended figures in which:

[0032] This is a schematic representation, in perspective, of two elementary cells arranged side by side in a battery block;

[0033] This is a schematic representation, in perspective and in a partially exploded view, of a connector according to a first example of implementation of the present invention;

[0034] This is a schematic representation, in perspective, of the male housing according to the first example of implementation of the present invention;

[0035] The male housing of the main body of said male housing is represented in a perspective view and from the lower face;

[0036] The diagram schematically represents an example of a connection member capable of being implemented within the framework of the present invention;

[0037] This is a representation of the female housing of the according to a perspective view;

[0038] This is a representation of the female housing according to another perspective view allowing the through opening and the different sections of the snap-in wall to be observed;

[0039] This is a schematic representation of the female housing of the allowing the detail of the insertion opening to be observed;

[0040] Illustrates the insertion of the main body into the female housing;

[0041] Illustrates a locking member in a perspective view and by its guide face, said guide member being capable of being implemented within the framework of the first example of connector of the present invention;

[0042] Illustrates the locking member according to a perspective view and by one of its faces opposite the guide face;

[0043] This is a schematic representation, in perspective and in a partially exploded view, of a connector according to a second example of implementation of the present invention;

[0044] This is a schematic representation, in perspective, of the male housing according to the second example of implementation of the present invention;

[0045] This is another schematic representation, in perspective, of the male housing according to the second example of implementation of the present invention;

[0046] This is a representation of the female housing of the according to a perspective view;

[0047] This is another representation of the female housing of the according to a perspective view;

[0048] This is a schematic representation of a male housing inserted into a female housing and allowing the terminal portion of one of the pins to be observed;

[0049] This is another schematic representation of a male housing inserted into a female housing and allowing the terminal portion of the other pin to be observed;

[0050] Illustrates the locking member according to the second example of connector, and according to a perspective view;

[0051] Illustrates the locking member of the assembly with the female housing;

[0052] Illustrates the detail of the guide trench and the oblong hole;

[0053] Represents the detail of the contact section;

[0054] It represents a connection device;

[0055] This represents another example of a connection device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0056] The present invention relates to a connector for electrically connecting two elementary cells of a battery pack. More particularly, the connector according to the present invention is configured to electrically connect the terminals of two adjacent elementary cells.

[0057] Thus, the present invention relates to a connector for electrically connecting a terminal of an elementary cell of a battery pack, said terminal being projecting relative to an area of ​​said elementary cell called the connection area, the connector comprising:

[0058] - a male housing provided with a main body forming a housing, called a male housing, accessible through an opening, called a male opening, formed on a lower face of the main body;

[0059] - a female housing intended to be fixed to the connection zone by one of its faces, called the contact face, and so as to form a housing, called the female housing, in which the terminal is housed, the female housing comprising an insertion opening on one of its faces, called the insertion face, the female housing being generally conforming to the main body so as to allow the insertion of said main body, by its lower face, into the female housing, and the retention by snap-fastening of said male housing, in a position, called the snap-fastened position;

[0060] - a connection member, arranged in the male housing, intended to form a contact with the terminal when the main body is in its snap-in position;

[0061] - a locking member, in sliding connection or in pivot connection with the female housing, and capable of adopting, according to a sliding movement or a rotational movement, one or the other of a locked position and an unlocked position, the unlocked position being a position for which the locking member authorizes the insertion of the main body into the female housing to adopt its snap-locked position, the locked position being a position for which the locking member locks the main body in its snap-locked position.

[0062] The male housing may form a rectangular parallelepiped, while the female housing may comprise four side walls, the insertion face being opposite the contact face.

[0063] It is understood that the expressions “connection member” and “terminal” are each associated with a connection element, one having a male architecture while the other has a female architecture.

[0064] According to the present invention, the female housing is intended to be fixed to the connection zone of the elementary cell before the assembly of the latter with other elementary cells in order to form a battery block. According to the present invention, and unlike the arrangements known from the state of the art, the female housing comprises, fixed in sliding connection, the locking member. This configuration makes it easier to associate the male housing with the female housing with a view to establishing the electrical connection between the connection member and the terminal housed in the female housing.

[0065] Furthermore, the locking member also provides the function of a “good connection” indicator. More particularly, the locking member is configured to only allow the main body to be inserted into the female housing if it is in its unlocked position. Furthermore, in the presence of the main body, sliding of the locking member from its unlocked position to its unlocked position is only possible if the male housing is in its snap-fitted position.

[0066] Thus, it represents two elementary cells 11 and 12 each comprising a terminal 13 and 14 in projection relative to a zone called the connection zone 15 and 16. Each connection zone is essentially flat.

[0067] Thus, it represents a first example of connector 10 according to the present invention.

[0068] The connector 10 comprises in particular a male housing 200, a female housing 300, a locking member 400 and a connection member. The connection member is not shown in the figure but is illustrated by means of other figures and described in the remainder of the statement of the present invention.

[0069] The male housing 200 (also illustrated in la and in la) comprises a main body 201 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, forming a housing, called male housing 201a, accessible for an opening, called male opening 201c, formed on a lower face 201b of the main body 201. As illustrated in la, the male opening 201c may take the form of a slot. However, the invention should not be limited to this single shape, and the person skilled in the art wishing to implement the present invention may consider other shapes. The male opening 201c may for example cover the entire lower face 201b.

[0070] The male housing 201a is furthermore adapted to house, in a fixed connection, a connection member 500. For example, the connection member 500 may comprise at least one clip. In particular, the at least one clip comprises a base from which two wings extend, essentially symmetrically with respect to the base. According to this configuration, a terminal 13 or 14, in the form of a tab, may be inserted and clamped by the two wings in order to establish electrical contact between said terminal and the connection member 500. It is understood, but this aspect will become clear in the remainder of the statement, that establishing contact between the terminal and the connection member 500 involves insertion, through the male opening, of said terminal into the male housing 201a through the male opening 201c.

[0071] Advantageously, and as illustrated in the, the at least one clip may comprise a connection clip 501 and a clamping clip 502. In this regard, the connection clip 501 comprises two connection wings 501a and 501b connected to each other by a connection base 501c. Equivalently, the clamping clip 502 comprises two clamping wings 502a and 502b connected to each other by a clamping base 502c, and arranged on either side of the connection clip 501 so as to apply a spring force to each of the connection wings 501a and 501b tending to tighten them against each other.

[0072] The male housing 200 may also comprise a secondary body 202 in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. In particular, the secondary body 202 surmounts the main body 201 by a face of said main body and opposite the lower face 201b. More particularly, the secondary body 202 comprises a face, called secondary section 204b in the extension of one of the four lateral faces of the main body 201 and called main section 204a which forms with the secondary section 204b a face called snap-fastening face 204c.

[0073] The term "lateral face" means a face exposed to the external environment. The term "lateral face" is the opposite of the term "internal face".

[0074] The secondary body may have a different serif than the main body. For example, the secondary body may have a larger serif than the main body.

[0075] However, according to this first example, the main section and the secondary section are coplanar. This latter aspect will not necessarily be verified in the context of the second example which will be described in the rest of the statement.

[0076] The female housing 300 is provided with four side walls 302, 303, 304 and 305, and is intended to be fixed on the connection zone by one of its faces, called contact face 301, and so as to form a housing, called female housing 306, in which the terminal 13, 14 () is housed. The female housing 300 also comprises an opening, called insertion opening 307, on one of its faces opposite the contact face 301. The two side walls 302 and 304 each comprise an edge, called entry edge 302a and 304a, opposite the contact face 301, and partly delimiting the insertion opening 307.

[0077] Furthermore, the female housing 306 conforms to the main body 201 so as to allow on the one hand the insertion of said main body 201, by its lower face 201b, into the female housing 306 and on the other hand the establishment of contact between the connection member and the terminal. It is also understood without it being necessary to specify that the insertion of the main body 201 into the female housing is carried out in a direction going from the insertion opening 307 towards the contact face 301.

[0078] For example, for a terminal formed by a (flat) tab and a connection member which comprises at least one clip, the electrical connection between these two elements is established by inserting and tightening the terminal between the lateral wings of the clip.

[0079] Furthermore, the male housing 200 and the female housing 300 comprise, respectively, snap-fastening means and complementary snap-fastening means configured to cooperate together. In particular, the snap-fastening means and the complementary snap-fastening means are configured to maintain, by snap-fastening, the male housing 200 when its main body is inserted into the female housing and contact between the connection member and the terminal (housed in said female housing) is established.

[0080] According to the present invention, the latching means are carried by the latching face 204c, and more particularly in this first example, the latching means are carried by the secondary section 204b. In particular, the latching means may comprise a lug 205 projecting relative to the latching face 204c. In this regard, the lug 205 comprises, in a direction going from the main section 204a towards the secondary section 204b, an oblique section 205a and a stop section 205b.

[0081] Still according to the present invention, the complementary latching means are carried by a side wall, called the latching wall 305, of the female housing opposite the latching face when the main body is inserted into the female housing 306. In this regard, the latching wall 305 comprises two essentially parallel faces and called, respectively, first face 309a and second face 309b. In particular, the first face 309a is a face external to the female housing while the second face 309b is an internal face to the female housing.

[0082] In particular, and in accordance with the first example of connector, the snap-on wall 305 comprises, in a direction, called the sliding direction, perpendicular to the contact face, called the sliding direction, and from said contact face, a first part 305a, an intermediate part 305b and a second part 305c (and). In particular, the snap-on wall 305 is configured to be flexible at the intermediate part 305b. In this regard, the first part 305a is fixed over the entire extent of its two lateral edges to the lateral wall 302 on the one hand and to the lateral wall 304 on the other hand. Furthermore, the lateral edges of the intermediate part 305b and of the second part 305c are free.

[0083] The “side edges” of parts 305a, 305b and 305c are the edges parallel to the direction of extension.

[0084] This configuration makes it possible to differentiate the rigidity of the first part with respect to the intermediate part and the second part. More particularly, the first part, held by its lateral edges, is not very inclined to deform when a force is exerted on the latter. On the contrary, the intermediate part as well as the second part, whose lateral edges are free, are likely to deform, and in particular to bend, as soon as a force is exerted on the second part.

[0085] It is understood that the material forming the female housing, and more particularly the snap-on wall, is adapted to allow the second part to flex in a direction perpendicular to the plane formed by the snap-on wall. More particularly, the second part is capable of flexing around an axis perpendicular to the sliding direction and included in the intermediate part.

[0086] Thus, according to the present invention, the snap-on wall is generally flat as long as no force is exerted on the latter and in particular on the second part.

[0087] Still according to this first example, the complementary snap-fastening means are arranged on the second part 305c. The latter may in particular comprise a through opening 308 opening through the first face 309a and the second face 309b. The through opening 308 may form a window of rectangular shape and delimited by four internal faces (). Among these four internal faces, two faces are parallel to the contact face, and are named, in a direction going from the contact face towards the female opening, annex face 308a and snap-fastening face 308b.

[0088] Other configurations may be envisaged to form the complementary snap-fitting means. In particular, the latter may comprise a trench or a cavity.

[0089] In particular, the snap-on face 308b is configured to form a stop against which the lug is intended to abut when the main body 201 is inserted into the female housing 307 for the purpose of establishing contact between the connection member and the terminal housed in the female housing, and to adopt a position called the snap-on position.

[0090] In operation, and during insertion of the main body 201 of the male housing 200 (illustrated in ), the oblique section 205b is engaged against an edge of the snap-in wall opposite the contact face. During this engagement, and due to its “oblique” shape, the oblique section 205a exerts a force on the snap-in wall and more particularly on the second part 305c. This force produces a bending of the second part 305c which opens the way to insertion of the main body into the female housing. At the end of this insertion, the lug 205 is housed in the through opening 308 so that the second part 305c becomes flat again, and so that the stop section 305b is in abutment against the snap-in face 308b. The main body is then in its snapped position, and cannot be removed without flexing the secondary section again.

[0091] According to the present invention, the locking member is in sliding connection with the female housing 300. In particular, the locking member is capable of adopting, according to a sliding movement, one or the other of a locked position and an unlocked position. In this regard, the unlocked position is a position for which the locking member allows the insertion of the main body into the female housing to adopt its snap-fastened position, while the locked position is a position for which the locking member locks the main body in its snap-fastened position.

[0092] Illustrates a locking member formed by a single-piece part 400 in sliding connection with the latching wall 305. The sliding connection is of the maintained type and is ensured by at least one rail. More particularly, and as illustrated in the, the at least one rail may comprise two rails 310 and 320 (). Each rail 310 and 320 extends in particular in the sliding direction from the contact face, and is discontinuous at the intermediate portion. This discontinuity makes the bending of the second portion relative to the first portion easier.

[0093] By "maintained type" is meant a locking member which is attached to the at least one rail.

[0094] More particularly, the rail 310 comprises a first portion 310a and a second portion 310b carried respectively by the first section and the second section.

[0095] Equivalently, the rail 320 comprises a first portion 320a and a second portion 320b carried respectively by the first part and the second part.

[0096] Thus, the locking member, when in its locked position, is engaged in one and the other of the first portion 310a, 320a and the second portion 310b, 320b of the at least one rail so as to mechanically secure the first part and the second part. This mechanical securing of the first part and the second part makes it possible to stiffen the latching wall and to make any bending of the second part 305c difficult, or even impossible.

[0097] When in its unlocked position, the locking member is engaged exclusively in the second portion 310b, 320b, so as to allow the second section to bend when the main body 201 is inserted into the female housing 306.

[0098] Particularly advantageously, the locking member may be configured to be snapped against the second part when in its unlocked position, and against the first part when in its locked position.

[0099] Still advantageously, the locking member 400 may have the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped. In particular, the locking member 400 (illustrated in the), may comprise a bottom 401 carrying on one of its faces called the guide face 402, at least one counter-rail cooperating with the at least one rail. In particular, the at least one counter-rail may comprise a first counter-rail 403 and a second counter-rail 404.

[0100] The latching of the locking member 400 can be carried out by additional latching means carried respectively by the bottom 401 and the latching wall 305. In particular, the latching wall can comprise a first lug 311 and a second lug 312 () formed, respectively, by the first part 305a and the second part 305c.

[0101] The bottom 401 may be provided with a tab 408 (for example obtained by cutting the bottom 401) configured to cooperate with one and the other of the first lug 311 and the second lug 312 as soon as the locking member is respectively in the locked position and the unlocked position.

[0102] The locking member 400 may comprise two side walls 405, 406 and a thrust wall 407 connecting the two side walls 405, 406. The two side walls 405, 406 and the thrust wall 407 in particular surmount the bottom 401 by one of its faces opposite the guide face 402. The locking member 400 may also comprise an additional wall opposite the thrust wall 407, also surmounting the bottom 401 by its face opposite the guide face 402, and connecting the two side walls 405, 406.

[0103] It is understood that when the locking member is mounted in sliding connection on the female housing, the thrust wall is opposite the contact face.

[0104] This structure of the locking member 400 provides sufficient rigidity so that, when in its locked position, it can effectively lock the main body in its snapped position.

[0105] La represents a second example of connector 10 according to the present invention.

[0106] Like the device shown in , the connector 10, according to this second example, comprises the male housing 200, the female housing 300, the locking member 400 and the connection member.

[0107] Furthermore, the connector 10 according to this second example essentially incorporates the characteristics set out with regard to the first example.

[0108] However, the connector 10 according to this second example comprises another arrangement for the locking member and the snap-in and complementary snap-in means.

[0109] The male housing 200 (shown in the) remains very similar to the male housing according to the first example and takes up most of its characteristics. The male housing 200 differs however in that the snap-fastening means, and more particularly the lug 205 is formed on the first section 204a.

[0110] As illustrated in la and la, the male housing 200 also comprises two pins 206a and 206b each arranged on a different lateral face, adjacent to the main section 204a, called guide faces 201a and 201b. The pin 206a and the pin 206b are in particular configured to be guided towards an insertion position, by guide means formed on two lateral walls adjacent to the snap-in wall 305, and called guide walls 302 and 304.

[0111] The insertion position of the pins 206a and 206b is a position for which the male housing 200 is in the snap-in position.

[0112] The two pins 206a and 206b are also configured to cooperate with the locking member so that, when in its locked position, said locking member locks the pins in their insertion position. This aspect will be described in more detail in the remainder of the statement of the present invention.

[0113] The female housing 300, according to this second example, is illustrated in the. The latter essentially incorporates all of the characteristics of the female housing described in relation to the first example. However, in the context of this second example, the complementary latching means are carried by the first part 305a. These complementary latching means may in particular be arranged internally to the female housing 306. By way of example, these complementary latching means may comprise a groove, a notch or any other pattern capable of cooperating with the latching means of the male housing in order to maintain it by latching in the latched position.

[0114] It is understood that the female housing is not necessarily provided with the second part.

[0115] The guide means may comprise two notches 313 and 314 formed respectively on the guide wall 302 and on the guide wall 304 ().

[0116] In particular, the guide notch 313 of the guide wall 302 extends from a guide inlet 313a (formed at the inlet edge 302a) towards the contact face to terminate in a stop end 313b at a distance from the contact face ().

[0117] Equivalently, the guide notch 314 of the guide wall 304 extends from a guide inlet 314a (formed at the inlet edge 304a) toward the contact face to terminate in a stop end 314b spaced from the contact face ().

[0118] The guide notches 313 and 314 are configured so that when the main body 201 is inserted into the female housing 306, each pin 206a and 206b is engaged in a guide notch to be guided along said guide notch to its insertion position.

[0119] In particular, the pin 206a is intended to be guided by the guide notch 313, while the pin 206b is intended to be guided by the guide notch 314.

[0120] Each pin 206a and 206b, when engaged in a guide notch 313 and 314, comprises an end portion projecting relative to the guide wall carrying the guide notch 313 and 314 in question, and intended to cooperate with the locking member.

[0121] By way of example, this is an illustration of the pin 206a in its insertion position and in the guide notch 313. In particular, in this figure, the pin 206a passes entirely through the guide wall 302 and therefore comprises a part called the terminal portion 306aa, projecting relative to the guide wall 302.

[0122] Equivalently, this is an illustration of the pin 206b in its insertion position and in the guide notch 314. In particular, in this figure, the pin 206b passes entirely through the guide wall 304 and therefore comprises a part called the terminal portion 306bb, projecting relative to the guide wall 304.

[0123] The terminal portions 306aa and 306bb are intended to cooperate with the locking member shown in.

[0124] The locking member according to this second example forms a rectangular parallelepiped and comprises four walls 410, 411, 412 and 413. The locking member 400 comprises two fully open faces, opposite one another and called, respectively, first face 414 and second face 415.

[0125] In particular, the first face 414 is delimited by free edges, called first edges, of the four walls 410, 411, 412 and 413 accessible by the first face 414.

[0126] Equivalently, the second face 415 is delimited by free edges, called second edges opposite the first edges, of the four walls 410, 411, 412 and 413 accessible by the second face 415.

[0127] The locking member 400 is arranged to be placed on the connection zone, and more particularly so that its four walls 410, 411, 412 and 413 are arranged around the female housing 300.

[0128] In this regard, the illustrates the locking member 400 arranged on the connection zone so that its four walls 410, 411, 412 and 413 are arranged around the female housing 300.

[0129] In particular, at 10, wall 410 faces guide wall 302, while wall 412 faces guide wall 304.

[0130] By "facing" is meant being "in contact" or "in proximity to". Consequently, it is understood without needing to be specified that the wall 410 is parallel to the guide wall 302 and that the wall 412 is parallel to the guide wall 304.

[0131] Furthermore, the locking member 400 rests on the connection zone by its second face. In order to limit the connection between the locking member and the female housing to a sliding connection, the entry edges 302a and 304a may be divergent and / or curved externally and / or flared.

[0132] In other words, the entry edge 302a bears against the first edge of the wall 410 (also called locking walls 410).

[0133] Equivalently, the entry edge 304a bears against the first edge of the wall 412 (also called locking walls 412).

[0134] According to this configuration, the locking member can slide between one of the locked position and the unlocked position in a direction perpendicular to the guide notches and included in a plane defined by one or the other of the guide walls, two walls of the locking member.

[0135] Furthermore, the locking walls are each adapted to cooperate with an end portion of a pin.

[0136] In particular, when the locking member is in its unlocked position, each pin can be freely guided in a guide notch, while when the locking member is in its locked position, each pin is locked in its insertion position.

[0137] As illustrated in , each guide wall comprises on its inner face a guide trench 416 which extends from a first end 416a towards a second end 416b and parallel to the guide notches. Each locking wall also comprises an oblong hole 417 which extends perpendicular to the guide trench 416 and from the second end 416b of said guide trench towards a third end 417b.

[0138] The guide trench 416 is arranged so that, when the locking member is in its unlocked position, said guide trench 416 is opposite one of the guide notches and makes it possible to guide the terminal portion of a pin, from the first end 416a to the second end 416b, and to cause said pin to adopt its insertion position.

[0139] The guide trench is obtained by removing material and from the internal face of the guide wall on which said trench is formed. In other words, the bottom of the guide trench is at a distance in order to allow the guidance of the terminal portion of the pin without interaction with the internal face considered.

[0140] The oblong hole 417 is for its part arranged so that when the locking member passes from its unlocked position to its locked position, the terminal portion is guided from the second end to the third end so as to lock the terminal portion in its insertion position.

[0141] Thus, in operation, and during insertion of the main body 201 of the male housing 200, the locking member is in its unlocked position. Each guide trench is in correspondence with a guide notch and thus allows the guiding of the terminal portion of each pin along one of the guide notches so that said pin reaches its insertion position.

[0142] Once the male housing is in the snapped position, the locking member can adopt its locked position by guiding each of the terminal portions into an oblong hole (the oblong hole slides along the terminal portion of a pin).

[0143] Advantageously, each guide wall comprises at its first edge (in contact with a flared edge) a flexible holding lever 418. The holding lever 418 is in particular adapted to cooperate with a boss 419 formed on the flared edge, and to allow the locking member to be held in either the locking position or the unlocking position. The boss 419 may be elongated and comprise two sides, respectively called the first side and the second side opposite each other. In particular, the holding lever 418 may be snapped onto the first side of the boss when the locking member is in its locked position, and snapped onto the second side of the boss when the locking member is in its unlocked position.

[0144] Whatever the example considered, the connection member may comprise a contact section, housed in a housing, called the connecting housing 600, arranged in the extension of the secondary body by one of its faces, opposite the second section 204b ().

[0145] The contact section 520 (and) comprises a central portion 521, of generally planar shape, and two curved lateral tabs 522. The two tabs 522 rest on a conformal bed of the connecting housing in order to limit the relative movements between the connection member and the male housing.

[0146] The invention relates to a connection device 1000 for two elementary cells (). The connection device comprises in particular a bus bar 700 ("bus-bar" according to English terminology) and two connectors according to the present invention.

[0147] In particular, the bus bar extends between two ends, and may have one or more bends 710 making it flexible. As illustrated in, each connector is fixed to the contact section of the contact member of one of the connectors 10.

[0148] According to another example illustrated in , a secondary bus bar 720 may be interposed between each end of the bus bar 700 and the connector 10. Clips 730 may be arranged at each connection between the bus bar 700 and a secondary bus bar 720. These clips may further comprise a foot and a head surmounting the foot. The foot may be provided with snap-fastening means allowing the clip to be snapped onto a wall of an elementary cell. The head is for its part arranged to allow the connection of a bus bar and a secondary bus bar. This latter aspect makes it possible to improve the mechanical cohesion of the connection device when the bus bar 700 and the secondary bus bars 720 have a combined length greater than 30 cm.

[0149] The present invention also relates to a third example of connector 10 which essentially repeats the principles set out with regard to the first example and the second example.

[0150] However, in this third example, the locking member 400 is in pivot connection with the female housing, and can therefore adopt the locked position and the unlocked position by simple rotation.

[0151] In particular, the locking member 400, of generally cylindrical shape, is mounted coaxially with a spring element 500a and the connection member 500, both of generally cylindrical shape. More particularly, the connection member 500 is housed in the spring element 500 itself housed in the locking member 400. In this regard, the locking member, when it is in its locked position, releases the spring element so that the latter exerts a force tending to tighten the connection member.

[0152] Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described and variant embodiments can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

Connector (10) for electrically connecting a terminal of an elementary cell of a battery pack, said terminal being projecting relative to an area of ​​said elementary cell called the connection area, the connector (10) comprising: - a male housing (200) provided with a main body (201), forming a housing, called the male housing (201a), accessible for an opening, called the male opening (201c), formed on a lower face (201b) of the main body (201);- a female housing (300) intended to be fixed on the connection zone by one of its faces, called the contact face (301), and so as to form a housing, called the female housing, in which the terminal is housed, the female housing (300) comprising an insertion opening (307) on one of its faces, called the insertion face, the female housing being generally conforming to the main body (201) so as to allow the insertion of said main body (201), by its lower face (201b), into the female housing, and the retention by snap-fastening of said male housing (200), in a position, called the snap-fastened position; - a connection member (500), arranged in the male housing (201a), intended to form a contact with the terminal when the main body (201) is in its snap-fastened position;- a locking member (400), in sliding connection or pivot connection with the female housing (300), and capable of adopting, according to a sliding movement or according to a rotational movement, one or the other of a locked position and an unlocked position, the unlocked position being a position for which the locking member (400) authorizes the insertion of the main body (201) into the female housing to adopt its snap-fastened position, the locked position being a position for which the locking member (400) locks the main body (201) in its snap-fastened position.; Connector (10) according to claim 1, wherein the male housing (200) forms a rectangular parallelepiped, while the female housing (300) comprises four side walls, the insertion face being opposite the contact face (301). Connector (10) according to claim 2, in which the main body (201) comprises four lateral faces, and the male housing (200) also comprises a secondary body (202), in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, surmounting the main body (201) by a face opposite the lower face (201b), the secondary body (202) having the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, one face of the secondary body (202), called the secondary section (204b), coplanarly extends one of the lateral faces called the main section (204a), the main section (204a) and the secondary section (204b) together forming a snap-fastening face (204c) carrying snap-fastening means, and intended to cooperate with complementary snap-fastening means carried by the female housing (300). Connector (10) according to claim 3, in which the complementary latching means are carried by a side wall, called the latching wall, of the female housing (300) opposite the latching face (204c). Connector (10) according to claim 4, in which the snap-fastening wall comprises, in a direction perpendicular to the contact face (301), called the sliding direction, and from said contact face (301), a first part (305a), an intermediate part and a second part (305c) carrying the complementary snap-fastening means, the lateral edges of the intermediate part (305b) and of the second part (305c) being free in order to allow a bending of the second part (305c) around an axis perpendicular to the sliding direction and included in the intermediate part, during the snap-fastening operation of the male housing (200) with the female housing (300). Connector (10) according to claim 5, in which the locking member (400) is formed by a single-piece part in sliding connection according to a guiding mode held by means of at least one rail (310, 320), each rail among the at least one rail, extending in the sliding direction from the contact face (301), is discontinuous at the intermediate part and comprises a first portion (310a, 320a) and a second portion (310b, 320b) carried respectively by the first part (305a) and the second part (305c), the locking member (400), when it is in its locked position, is engaged in both the first portion and the second portion of the at least one rail so as to mechanically secure the first part (305a) and the second part (305c), while when it is in its unlocked position, the locking member (400) is engaged exclusively in the second portion of the at least one rail. The connector (10) of claim 6, wherein the locking member (400) is configured to be snapped against the second section when in its unlocked position, and against the first section, and against the first section when in its locked position. Connector (10) according to claim 6 or 7, in which the locking member (400), in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, comprises a base (401) bearing on one of its faces called the guide face (402), at least one counter-rail (403, 404) cooperating with the at least one rail, the base being furthermore surmounted, by one of its faces opposite the guide face, by two side walls and a thrust wall. Connector (10) according to claim 4, wherein the main body (201) comprises two pins each arranged on a different lateral face, adjacent to the main section, called guide faces, the two pins being configured to be guided towards an insertion position, by guide means formed on two lateral walls adjacent to the snap-in wall, and called guide walls, the insertion position being a position for which the male housing (200) is in the snap-in position, the two pins also being configured to cooperate with the locking member (400) so that, when it is in its locking position, said locking member (400) locks the pins in their insertion position. Connector (10) according to claim 9, in which the guiding means of a guiding wall comprise a guiding notch which extends from a guiding inlet, at the insertion face, towards the contact face (301), to terminate in an end, called the stop end, at a distance from the contact face (301), the guiding notches being configured so that when the main body (201) is inserted into the female housing, each pin is engaged in a guiding notch to be guided along said guiding notch to its insertion position. Connector (10) according to claim 10, in which each pin, when engaged in a guide notch, comprises an end portion projecting relative to the guide wall carrying the guide notch in question, and intended to cooperate with the locking member (400). Connector (10) according to claim 11, in which the locking member (400), in the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, comprises four walls arranged around the side walls of the female housing (300), the locking member (400) being arranged to slide between one and the other of the locked position and the unlocked position in a direction perpendicular to the guide notches and included in a plane defined by one or the other of the guide walls, two walls of the locking member (400), called locking walls and each facing a guide wall, being configured to each cooperate with the terminal portion of a pin so that when the locking member (400) is in its unlocked position, each pin can be guided freely in a guide notch, and so that when the locking member (400) is in its locked position, each pin is locked in its insertion position.Connector (10) according to claim 12, in which each locking wall comprises on an internal face, a guide trench which extends from a first end towards a second end and parallel to the guide notches, each locking wall also comprises an oblong hole which extends perpendicular to the guide trench and from the second end of said guide trench towards a third end, the guide trench being arranged so that, when the locking member (400) is in its unlocked position, said guide trench is opposite one of the guide notches and makes it possible to guide the terminal portion of a pin, from the first end to the second end, and to make the pin adopt its insertion position, the oblong hole being arranged so that when the locking member (400) passes from its unlocked position to its locked position,the terminal portion is guided from the second end to the third end so as to lock the terminal portion in its insertion position., Connector (10) according to claim 13, in which the guide walls each comprise a flared edge, each flared edge partly providing the sliding connection between the female housing (300) and the locking member (400). Connector (10) according to claim 14, in which each guide wall comprises at one of its edges, in contact with a flared edge, a holding lever, the holding lever being adapted to cooperate with a boss formed on the flared edge, and to allow the locking member (400) to be held in either the locking position or the unlocking position. Connector (10) according to one of claims 3 to 15, in which the connection member (500) comprises at least one clip, the at least one clip comprising a base from which extend, and in a manner essentially symmetrical with respect to the base, two wings, between which the terminal, of planar shape, is intended to be inserted when the main body (201) is in its snap-fastened position. Connector (10) according to one of claims 3 to 12, in which the connection member (500) comprises a contact section, housed in a housing, called a connecting housing, arranged in the secondary body extension (202) by one of its faces, opposite the second section.

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