Electrical connector assembly, high voltage terminal, and method of assembling same

Abstract

To provide an electric connector assembly for a high voltage terminal, capable of achieving high assembly ease.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to an electric connector assembly for a high voltage terminal including a contact tube made of conductive material, to a high voltage terminal including an electric connector assembly and a busbar made of conductive material, and to a method for assembling a high voltage terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electrical connector assembly for a high voltage terminal with a contact tube made of a conductive material, to an electrical connector assembly and a high voltage terminal with a busbar made of a conductive material, and to a method of assembling a high voltage terminal. [Background technology]

[0002] Electrical connectors and high voltage terminals are used to establish electrical connections between components. For example, electrical connectors are used to connect electrical circuits between components in a distribution box or wire harnesses to electrical equipment. Electrical connectors typically include conductive parts that mate with corresponding terminals. To prevent accidental contact with the conductive parts, electrical connectors may also include protective parts made from dielectric materials. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 9,444,205 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] U.S. Patent No. 9,444,205 discloses an electrical connector including a connector body and a conductor base attached to the connector body. A plurality of contact arms extend from the conductor base in a direction away from the connector body and are disposed about a central space. The electrical connector also includes a pin attached to the connector body and disposed in the central space, which pin may be made of a non-conductive plastic.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENT It may be an object of the present invention to improve electrical connector assemblies for high voltage terminals with respect to ease of assembly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect, the object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 1 and 8 According to a further aspect, this can be achieved by the high voltage terminal according to claim . 10 The object of the present invention can be achieved by the method for assembling a high voltage terminal described above.

[0007] The high voltage terminal electrical connector assembly comprises: The electrical connector assembly further comprises a contact tube made of a conductive material having a central cavity extending along a longitudinal axis (L), the contact tube having a front end with an access opening facing the central cavity for receiving a male terminal, and a rear end with a connection portion. The electrical connector assembly further comprises a contact spring made of a conductive material having a plurality of spring arms, the contact spring being disposed within the central cavity. A protective pin made of a dielectric material is arranged in the central cavity, the protective pin having a locking portion adapted to establish positive locking with the connection portion of the contact tube, the connection portion including an inwardly protruding collar to form a rear opening narrower than the central cavity.

[0008] Advantageously, the protective pin can be attached directly to the contact tube, which facilitates assembly of the connector assembly. It is further advantageous that the protective pin can be inserted into the central cavity of the contact tube through the access opening at the front end. The positive locking can advantageously be established as a snap-fit ​​connection. The protective pin advantageously prevents accidental contact with the conductive contact spring or contact tube in the central cavity. A person skilled in the art will recognize that the electrical connector assembly may also include a protective cover made of a dielectric material to prevent accidental contact with the outer surface of the contact tube.

[0009] The contact tube may have the shape of a hollow cylinder, but other cross sections perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, other than circular, are also applicable. The contact spring may have a substantially tubular shape as well, which advantageously fits into the central cavity and allows the spring arms to be aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis. Alternatively, the spring arms may extend parallel to one another and helically around the longitudinal axis. The guard pin may extend along the longitudinal axis inside the contact tube. The contact tube, the contact spring and the guard pin may be arranged concentrically with respect to one another and with respect to the longitudinal axis, respectively. The guard pin may extend over the entire length of the central cavity, the tip of the guard pin having the same position along the longitudinal axis as the access opening at the front end. The locking part of the guard pin is arranged at the rear end opposite the guard pin.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the rear opening may have a circular cross section, the diameter of the rear opening being smaller than the inner diameter of the central cavity. The locking portion of the protective pin comprises a body adapted to fit into the rear opening. For example, both the body and the rear opening have a circular cross section, which is beneficial for the assembly process, since a positive locking can be established regardless of the relative rotational position of the body and the rear opening about the longitudinal axis. The body can be inserted with a clearance fit into the rear opening. A flange of a larger diameter than the body protrudes from the body and abuts against the collar. At least one locking arm is deflectably attached to the body, for example extending in a cantilever manner towards the rear end of the protective pin. Two or more locking arms may be evenly distributed on the circumference of the body. The locking arm has a hook portion near its free end extending radially outward and a ramp chamfered radially inward towards the free end. When the body is inserted into the rear opening, the ramp engages the collar, which biases the locking arms back inwardly of the circumference of the body. When the flange abuts the collar, the at least one locking arm extends through the rear opening and at least the hook portion extends beyond the rear opening. The inwardly biased locking arms spring outwardly and engage the collar with the hook portion on a side of the collar opposite the side that abuts the flange. The flange abuts the collar inside the central cavity and the at least one locking arm engages the collar on a side facing away from the central cavity, but the protective pin can also be inserted through the rear opening at the rear end of the contact tube.

[0011] The central cavity is defined by an inner surface of the contact tube. According to a further embodiment, the central cavity has a first section and a second section, the first section being wider than the second section, and the contact spring is arranged in the first section of the central cavity. The first section may be formed as a notch in the inner surface, a side wall of the notch forming an abutment for restraining the contact spring. The depth of the notch is essentially smaller than the width of the notch. The width of the notch corresponds to the length of the contact spring along the longitudinal axis.

[0012] According to a further embodiment, the contact spring has at least one open ring with a gap, the spring arms extending from said ring parallel to the longitudinal axis. The contact spring can have two open rings, the spring arms extending between said rings parallel to the longitudinal axis. The gap can be, for example, open It extends over a portion of the circumference of the ring, ie between 5% and 30%, in particular about 15%.

[0013] The high voltage terminal comprises an electrical connector assembly as described herein and a bus bar made from a conductive material, the bus bar having a receiving aperture, the connection portion having a rim forming an outer surface that fits into the receiving aperture, the rim being press-fittable into the receiving aperture to establish a mechanically secured and electrically conductive connection, the electrical connector assembly being a subassembly of the high voltage terminal.

[0014] The assembly method for the high voltage terminal is as follows: The method includes providing a contact tube made of a conductive material having a central cavity extending along a longitudinal axis L, the contact tube having a front end with an access opening facing the central cavity for receiving a male terminal, and a rear end with a connection portion. Providing a protective pin having a locking portion made from a dielectric material; inserting the protective pin into the central cavity; establishing a positive locking of the locking portion at the connection portion of the contact tube.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the protective pin is inserted, with the locking part forward in the central cavity, through an access opening at the front end of the contact tube until the locking part contacts a collar that defines a rear opening narrower than the central cavity. The body of the locking part is then forced into the rear opening, thereby deflecting at least one locking arm inside the periphery of the body until a flange protruding from the body butts against the collar and the at least one locking arm extends through the rear opening and engages the collar opposite the flange.

[0016] The method further comprises: Providing a contact spring made from a conductive material having a plurality of spring arms; applying tension to a tubular contact spring to reduce its diameter for passage through said access opening; inserting the contact spring into the central cavity through the access opening; and expanding the contact spring in a first section of the central cavity, the first section being wider than a second section, the contact spring being expanded to a diameter at which the contact spring is constrained within the first section of the central cavity. This step may typically be performed after establishing the positive locking of the guard pin, although other sequences are also applicable.

[0017] The method of the present invention further comprises: The method includes the steps of providing a busbar made of a conductive material having a receiving opening and inserting the rim of the connection part into the receiving opening in a press-fit manner, which steps can typically be performed before establishing the positive locking of the protective pin and expanding the contact spring in the central cavity, although other sequences are also applicable.

[0018] Various aspects will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of illustrative embodiments, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a high voltage terminal with an electrical connector assembly. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a further perspective view of the high voltage terminal of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a protective pin as a detail of the high voltage terminal of FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the longitudinal axis of the high voltage terminal of FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the high voltage terminal taken along line AA of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the high-voltage terminal of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] 1 to 6 show one embodiment of a high voltage terminal including an electrical connector assembly 9. FIGS. 1 to 6 will be described together. The high voltage terminal has a bus bar 24 made of a conductive material. 24 The electrical connector assembly 9 has a first base 27 having a receiving opening 25 and a second base 28 connectable to a conductor 29 of a wire 30. The electrical connector assembly 9 has a connection portion 8 having a rim 26 defining an outer surface that fits into the circular receiving opening 25. The rim 26 is press-fittable to be inserted into the receiving opening 25 regardless of their relative rotational position about a common longitudinal axis L.

[0021] The electrical connector assembly 9 of the high voltage terminal comprises a contact tube 1 made of a conductive material, the contact tube 1 having a central cavity 6 extending along a longitudinal axis L. The contact tube 1 has a front end 4 with an access opening 5 facing the central cavity 6 for receiving a male terminal (not shown) and a rear end 7 with a connection part 8. The electrical connector assembly 9 further comprises a contact spring 2 made of a conductive material, the contact spring 2 having a plurality of spring arms 12, the contact spring 2 being arranged in the central cavity 6. The electrical connector assembly 9 further comprises a protective pin 3 made of a dielectric material, arranged in the central cavity 6, the protective pin 3 having a locking part 14 adapted to establish a positive locking with the connection part 8 of the contact tube 1. The connection part 8 comprises a collar 15 projecting inwards to form a rear opening 17 narrower than the central cavity 6. The contact tube 1 has the form of an approximately hollow cylinder, the diameter of the rim 26 at the connection part 8 being smaller than the diameter of the remainder of the contact tube 1.

[0022] The protection pin 3 is shown in detail in FIG. 3. The locking portion 14 of the protection pin 3 includes a body 16 adapted to fit into a circular rear opening 17. A flange 18 projects from the body 16 and abuts against the collar 15. In an embodiment, two cantilevered locking arms 19 are attached to the body 16 and are deflectable. The locking arms 19 each have a hook 32 near its free end 31 extending radially outward and a ramp 33 chamfered radially inward toward the respective free end 31. When the body 16 is inserted into the rear opening 17, the ramp 33 engages the collar 15, which deflects the locking arms 19 back inwardly of the circumference of the body 16. When the flange 18 abuts against the collar 15, the locking arms 19 extend through the rear opening 17 and the free ends 31 extend beyond the rear opening 17. The inwardly biased locking arms 19 spring outwardly, engaging the collar 15 with the hook 32 from the outside of the central cavity 6, thus locking the protective pin. 3 The contact tube 1Positive locking.

[0023] A central cavity 6 is defined by the inner surface of the contact tube 1, which is best seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. Cylindrical Section 10 and Cylindrical The contact spring 2 has a second section 11, with the diameter of the first section 10 being greater than the diameter of the second section 11. The contact spring 2 is disposed within the first section 10 of the central cavity 6. The first section 10 is formed as a notch in its inner surface with notch side walls 20, 21 forming an abutment for restraining the contact spring 2 to the first section. The contact spring 2, best seen in the exploded view of FIG. 6, has two open rings 22 with a gap 23 between them. The spring arms 12 are open The gap 23 extends between the rings 22 parallel to the longitudinal axis L. open It can extend over approximately 15% of the circumference of the ring 22, which makes it possible to reduce the diameter of the contact spring 2 by applying tension.

[0024] An exemplary method for assembling a high voltage terminal is described with reference to FIG. 6. First, the busbar 24 and the contact tube 1 are prepared, which are connected by inserting the rim 26 of the connection part 8 into the receiving opening 25, for example by press-fitting. Then, the protective pin 3 is prepared and inserted into the central cavity 6 through the access opening 5 at the front end 4 of the contact tube 1 with the locking part 14 forward, until the locking part 14 abuts against the collar 15. The positive locking of the locking part 14 on the connection part 8 of the contact tube 1 is established by the locking arm 19, which engages with the collar 15 from the outside of the central cavity 6 by the hook 32 in a snap-fit ​​manner. Then, the contact spring 2 is prepared, which is tensioned to reduce its diameter in order to pass through the access opening 5, and is inserted into the central cavity 6 through the access opening 5. In the central cavity, the contact spring 2 is expanded to its original diameter in the first section 10. The diameter of the second section 11 is smaller than the original diameter of the contact spring 2, so that the contact spring 2 is constrained within the first section 10 of the central cavity 6. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the method of the present invention can be performed in various orders, for example, the electrical connector assembly 9 can be assembled first and then coupled with the bus bar 24. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 1 contact tube 2 Contact spring 3 Protective pin 4 Front end 5 Access opening 6 Central Cavity 7 Rear end 8 Connections 9 Electrical connector assembly 10. Section 1 11 Section 2 12 Spring Arm 14 Locking section 15 Color 16 Main unit 17 Rear opening 18 Flange 19 Locking Arm 20 notch side wall twenty one notch side wall twenty two open ring 23. Gap 24 Busbar 25 Receptive Aperture 26 Rims 27 First Base 28 Second Base 29 Conductor 30 Wire 31 Free end 32 Hook L Longitudinal axis

Claims

1. 1. An electrical connector assembly for a high voltage terminal comprising: a contact tube (1) made of a conductive material, having a central cavity (6) extending along a longitudinal axis (L) and having a front end (4) with an access opening (5) facing said central cavity for receiving a male terminal, and a rear end (7) with a connection portion (8); a contact spring (2) made of a conductive material having a plurality of spring arms (12) and disposed within the central cavity (6); a protective pin (3) made of a dielectric material, arranged in the central cavity, having a locking portion (14) adapted to establish a positive locking with the connection portion (8) of the contact tube (1), the connecting portion (8) includes an inwardly projecting collar (15) to define a rear opening (17) narrower than the central cavity (6); the locking portion (14) of the protective pin (3) includes a body (16) adapted to fit into the rear opening (17), a flange (18) protruding from the body and abutting the collar (15), and at least one locking arm (19) deflectably attached to the body, the at least one locking arm (19) being configured to be deflectable to be received in a recess formed in an outer circumferential surface of the body (16), the at least one locking arm (19) extending through the rear opening (17) and engaging the collar (15) on an opposite side of the flange (18).

2. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the flange (18) abuts against the collar (15) inside the central cavity (6) and the at least one locking arm (19) engages the collar (15) on a side facing away from the central cavity (6).

3. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the central cavity (6) is defined by an inner surface of the contact tube, the central cavity having a first section (10) and a second section (11), the first section being wider than the second section, and the contact spring (2) is disposed within the first section (10) of the central cavity (6).

4. 4. The electrical connector assembly of claim 3, wherein the first section (10) is formed as a notch in the inner surface, and notch side walls (20, 21) form an abutment for restraining the contact spring (2).

5. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the contact spring (2) has at least one open ring (22) having a gap (23), and the spring arms (12) extend from the open ring (22) parallel to the longitudinal axis (L).

6. 2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein said contact spring (2) has two open rings (22), said spring arms (12) extending parallel to said longitudinal axis (L) between said open rings (22).

7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 5, wherein said gap (23) extends over between 5% and 30% of the circumference of said open ring (22).

8. A high voltage terminal comprising an electrical connector assembly (9) according to any one of claims 1 to 7 and a bus bar (24) made from a conductive material, the bus bar having a receiving opening (25) and the connection portion (8) having a rim (26) forming an outer surface that fits into the receiving opening (25).

9. The high voltage terminal of claim 8, wherein the rim (26) is press-fit into the receiving opening (25).

10. A method for assembling a high voltage terminal, comprising the steps of: Providing a contact tube (1) made of a conductive material having a central cavity (6) extending along a longitudinal axis (L), said contact tube having a front end (4) with an access opening (5) facing said central cavity for receiving a male terminal, and a rear end (7) with a connection portion (8); Providing a protective pin (3) made of a dielectric material and having a locking portion (14); inserting the protective pin into the central cavity through an access opening (5) at the front end (4) of the contact tube (1) with the locking portion (14) forward until the locking portion (14) contacts a collar (15) which defines a rear opening (17) narrower than the central cavity (6); establishing a positive locking of the locking portion (14) at the connection portion (8) of the contact tube (1), after inserting the protective pin into the central cavity, pushing the body (16) of the locking part (14) into the rear opening (17), thereby deflecting at least one locking arm (19) attached to the body (16) in a deflectable manner to be received in a recess formed in the outer circumferential surface of the body (16) inwardly of the outer periphery of the body (16) until a flange (18) protruding from the body (16) abuts against the collar (15), and the at least one locking arm (19) extends through the rear opening (17) and engages with the collar (15) opposite the flange (18), establishing a positive locking of the locking part (14) at the connection part (8).

11. Providing a contact spring (2) made of a conductive material having a plurality of spring arms (12); applying tension to the tubular contact spring (2) to reduce its diameter in order to pass through the access opening (5); Inserting said contact spring (2) into said central cavity (6) through said access opening (5); 11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of expanding the contact spring (2) in a first section (10) of the central cavity (6) that is wider than a second section, such that the contact spring (2) is expanded in the first section (10) of the central cavity (6) to a diameter at which the contact spring (2) is constrained.

12. Providing a busbar (24) made from a conductive material having a receiving opening (25); The method according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising the step of press-fittingly inserting a rim (26) of the connection part (8) into the receiving opening (25).

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