Modular plug-in connector system

Abstract

The present invention provides a modular plug-in connector system, comprising a plug (1) and a socket (2), wherein the plug (1) comprises a plug housing (10) and a modular plug holding frame (12) for accommodating at least one plug module (11), wherein the socket comprises a socket housing (20) and a modular socket holding frame (22) for accommodating at least one socket module (21), characterized in that overall protective grounding of the modular plug-in connector system is achieved with a protective grounding assembly respectively arranged on the plug holding frame (12) and the socket holding frame (22). The modular plug-in connector system is miniaturized, mounted quickly and easily, highly reliable, has high electrical performance and high IP protection, and is suitable for narrow spaces.

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] Modular plug-in connector system

[0003] Technical field

[0004] The present invention relates to a modular plug-in connector system, in particular an industrial modular plug-in connector system.

[0005] Background art

[0006] Heavy-load modular plug-in connector systems for railway transport usually have higher requirements for miniaturization and mounting convenience due to narrow mounting spaces. In addition, since these modular plug-in connector systems are exposed to the outside, they also need to have high levels of waterproofing and dustproofing and anti-corrosion properties to withstand harsh environments. However, existing modular plug-in connector systems have problems such as a large size, time-consuming mounting due to the use of screws for fixing, unreliable protective grounding and no capability to withstand high current impacts.

[0007] Summary of the invention

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a miniaturized modular plug-in connector system that is mounted quickly and easily, highly reliable, has high electrical performance and high IP protection, and is suitable for narrow spaces.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present invention, a modular plug-in connector system is provided, comprising a plug and a socket, wherein the plug comprises a plug housing and a modular plug holding frame for accommodating at least one plug module, wherein the socket comprises a socket housing and a modular socket holding frame for accommodating at least one socket module; overall protective grounding of the modular plug-in connector system is achieved with a protective grounding assembly respectively arranged on the plug holding frame and the socket holding frame.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the protective grounding assemblies both comprise a protective grounding plate and a push-in protective grounding contact carrier.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the push-in protective grounding contact carrier comprises a busbar, an actuator, a spring and a protective grounding contact.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the protective grounding plate is a stamped bent member, which comprises an intermediate part and two side wing parts that are perpendicularly bent from two opposite sides of the intermediate part, wherein the intermediate part comprises a recess opening that has a contact strip at each of two opposite sides, and the contact strip is preferably bent perpendicularly relative to the intermediate part; moreover, the side wing parts both have a contact arm at a free end thereof.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the contact strip of the recess opening is in electrical contact with the corresponding busbar and is then electrically connected to the protective grounding contact of the plug and the protective grounding contact of the socket, wherein the contact arms are respectively in electrical contact with the plug housing and the socket housing.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the protective grounding plate is attached to a side of the plug holding frame or the socket holding frame, wherein the intermediate part and the side wing part are both provided with at least one clamping window to clamp to a corresponding clamping protrusion on the plug holding frame or the socket holding frame. In a preferred embodiment, the side of the plug holding frame or the socket holding frame to which the protective grounding plate is attached is provided with an accommodating part for the push-in protective grounding contact carrier and an accommodating part for an encoding apparatus.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the side of the plug holding frame or the socket holding frame to which the protective grounding plate is attached is provided with a locking arm, an end part of the locking arm being provided with a locking protrusion, and the locking protrusion being joined, by locking, into a locking moulded part, which is preferably configured as a recess, on an inner wall of the plug housing or the socket housing.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, a side face adjacent to one side of the plug holding frame or the socket holding frame that is provided with the locking arm is provided with an undercut part, and the undercut part abuts a shoulder part on an inner wall of the plug housing or the socket housing and interacts therewith.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the modular plug-in connector system is provided with a locking hoop for reversibly locking the plug and the socket, wherein the locking hoop is pivotably supported on a support pin of the socket housing by means of a supporting accommodating part, and, by means of a locking accommodating part, can clamp to the locking pin of the plug housing in a locking state.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the plug holding frame and the socket holding frame respectively accommodate exactly two modules or four half-modules, or one module and two half-modules.

[0019] Brief description of the drawings

[0020] Embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings and are explained in detail below. In the drawings: Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional drawing of a modular plug-in connector system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Fig. 2 shows a three-dimensional drawing of a plug according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of a plug according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Fig. 4 shows a three-dimensional drawing of a plug holding frame and a plug module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Fig. 5 shows a three-dimensional drawing of a protective grounding assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Fig. 6 shows a three-dimensional drawing of a protective grounding assembly according to an embodiment of the present invention from another angle;

[0026] Fig. 7 shows a sectional view of a plug according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Fig. 8 shows another sectional view of a plug according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Fig. 9 shows a three-dimensional drawing of a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

[0029] Fig. 10 shows an exploded view of a socket according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figures include partially simplified schematic drawings. Different views of the same element may be drawn to different scales.

[0030] Particular embodiments

[0031] Fig. 1 shows a three-dimensional drawing of a modular plug-in connector system. The modular plug-in connector system is in a locked state, and comprises a plug 1 and a socket 2, and a locking hoop 3 for reversibly locking the plug and the socket. An outer shell design of the modular plug-in connector system is compact, saving on space and reducing weight. The modular plug-in connector system is made of metal, preferably die-cast aluminium. The locking hoop 3 is formed by a rear wall 33 and two sidewalls 34 formed thereon and a manipulation mechanism 36. The sidewalls 34 have a V-shape cross-section, a lower wall 35 of the sidewall 34 is provided with an opening that acts as a supporting accommodating part 31 , and an upper wall 35’ of the sidewall 34 is provided with a semicircular recess opening that acts as a locking accommodating part 32. The supporting accommodating part 31 of the locking hoop is supported on a support pin 203 of the socket 2. In this way, the locking hoop 3 is pivotably mounted on the socket 2. The locking pin 103 is formed on the plug 1. A user may use the manipulation mechanism 6 to apply an acting force during pivoting, so as to be able to clamp the locking accommodating part 32 to the locking pin 32 in a locking state. In this way, the plug 1 and the socket 2 can be reversibly locked to each other.

[0032] Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 show a three-dimensional drawing and an exploded view of a plug. The plug 1 comprises a plug housing 10, the top of the plug housing having a cable hole (not shown) for connecting a cable, the bottom of the plug housing having a flange for joining to the socket. Opposite comers of the flange are provided with screw holes for mounting screws. A modular plug holding frame 12 is accommodated in the plug housing, and a plug module 11 is inserted in the plug holding frame 12. The plug module is made of plastic. Exactly two modules or four half-modules, or exactly one module or two half-modules, can be accommodated in the plug holding frame 12. A contact 111 , such as a female contact, is accommodated in the module. Four contacts are accommodated in two modules, that is, one contact is accommodated in each half-module.

[0033] Fig. 4 clearly shows the structure of the plug holding frame 12. The plug holding frame is approximately a hollow cuboid, with four side faces, and is essentially made of plastic. An outer surface of one side of the plug holding frame is provided with two clamping windows 124, and the clamping window clamps to a clamping lug on an outer surface of the plug module 11 to fix the plug module to the interior of the plug holding frame. An undercut part 121 is provided above the clamping window 124, and a plane in which the undercut part is located relative to the clamping window 124 protrudes outward. The opposite side that is not shown is also provided with the same clamping window and undercut part. Another side that is adjacent to the side provided with the undercut part is preferably provided at the centre with an elastic clamping arm 122, and the clamping arm is provided at a free end with at least one clamping protrusion 123, preferably two, in the form of clamping hooks. Likewise, the opposite side that is not shown is also provided with the same clamping arm.

[0034] As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, when the plug holding frame 12 is mounted in the plug housing 10, the undercut part 121 abuts an arm part 102 that is arranged on an inner wall of the plug housing 10 and interacts therewith, to stop the plug holding frame from moving further toward the interior of the plug housing; the clamping protrusion 123 of the clamping arm 122, due to elasticity, naturally springs into a locking moulded part 101 , for example a recess, that is arranged on the inner wall of the plug housing 10, wherein the top of the clamping protrusion abuts an inner edge of the recess, to stop the plug holding frame from coming off the plug housing. Thus, fast and convenient mounting of the plug is achieved with a locking fixing mechanism (that is, a locking arm / recess, undercut part / shoulder part). A protective grounding assembly is further provided on the plug holding frame. Figs. 5 and 6 clearly show the protective grounding assembly. The protective grounding assembly comprises a protective grounding plate 4 and a push-in grounding contact carrier 5. The protective grounding plate 4 is a U-shape overall, made by stamping and bending metal, and comprises an intermediate part 41 and side wing parts 42 that are respectively bent perpendicularly from two opposite sides of the intermediate part. The intermediate part 41 comprises a clamping window 411 , a projecting piece 414 that extends in the same direction as the side wing parts and is provided on one side of the clamping window, and a recess opening 412, two opposite sides of the recess opening being provided with two contact strips 413 extending in the direction of the side wing part, that is, perpendicularly. The two side wing parts 42 are both provided with at least one locking window 421. A lower part of the intermediate part is provided with a projecting piece 414 that extends parallel to a long locking window of the side wing part. Free ends of the two side wing parts 42 are both provided with a contact arm 422. The push-in protective grounding contact carrier 5 comprises a busbar 51 , a V-shaped spring (not shown) that is accommodated in the busbar, an actuator 52 and a protective grounding contact 53 that is mounted on the busbar, which in this case is a male protective grounding contact. Two contact strips 413 of the recess opening 412 contact the busbar 51 at two sides to be in electrical contact therewith, and are then electrically connected to the protective grounding contact 53 by the busbar.

[0035] Returning to Fig. 4, a protective grounding plate 4 is attached to one side of the plug holding frame 12, and specifically is provided on one side of the clamping arm 122. The clamping windows 411 , 421 respectively clamp to clamping protrusions on the plug holding frame, to fix the protective grounding plate to the plug holding frame. The contact arm 422 of the side wing part 42 is in electrical contact with an inner wall of the plug housing while mounting the plug holding frame in the plug housing, thereby electrically connecting the protective grounding plate to the plug housing. Thus, protective grounding is achieved in the plug with the plug housing, protective grounding plate and protective grounding contact carrier. An accommodating part for a push-in protective grounding contact carrier 5 and an accommodating part for an encoding apparatus 6 are provided on two sides of the clamping arm 122 of the plug holding frame 12. The protective grounding contact 53 and the encoding apparatus 6 respectively protrude from holes located on a top side of the plug holding frame 12. When it is necessary to mount a protective grounding cable, a tool, such as a screwdriver, is inserted from a cable hole (not shown) of the plug housing to actuate an actuator of the push-in protective grounding plug carrier, and the actuator applies a force to the V-shaped spring to separate a clamping support leg of the spring from the busbar, thereby facilitating insertion of the protective grounding cable. The projecting piece 414 of the protective grounding plate 4 is clamped at two sides of the pushin protective grounding contact carrier of the plug holding frame 12, achieving positioning / fixing to a certain extent.

[0036] Figs. 9 and 10 show a three-dimensional drawing and an exploded view of a socket. The socket 2 comprises a socket housing 20, the bottom of the housing having a cable hole (not shown) for connecting a cable, and the top of the housing having a flange for joining a plug. Opposite comers of the flange are provided with screw holes for mounting screws. An outer periphery of a stadiumshaped opening at the top of the housing is provided with a sealing ring 204, and the bottom of the housing is also provided with the same sealing ring (not shown), so that the modular plug-in connector system achieves an IP68 / IP69 protection rating. A modular socket holding frame 22 is accommodated in the socket housing, and a socket module 21 is inserted in the socket holding frame 22. Exactly two modules or four half-modules, or exactly one module or two halfmodules, can be accommodated in the plug holding frame 12. A contact 211 , such as a female contact, is accommodated in the module. Four contacts are accommodated in two modules; that is, one contact is accommodated in each half-module. The socket holding frame 22 is essentially the same as the plug holding frame 12, and also has a clamping arm 222 with a clamping protrusion 223 and an undercut part 221. A protective grounding assembly is likewise provided on the socket holding frame 22, and the protective grounding assembly comprises a protective grounding plate 4 and a push-in protective grounding contact carrier 5’. The main difference between the push-in protective grounding contact assembly and the push-in protective grounding contact carrier 5 of the plug lies in that the protective grounding contact 53’ is a female protective grounding contact. When the socket holding frame 22 is mounted in the socket housing 20, the undercut part 221 abuts a shoulder part 202 that is located on an inner wall of the socket housing 20, and the clamping protrusion 223 is clamped into a locking moulded part 201 , for example a recess, that is located on the inner wall of the socket housing 20, to quickly mount the socket holding frame in the socket housing in a locked manner.

[0037] When the plug is plugged into the socket, the encoding apparatus 6 on the plug holding frame pairs with an encoding apparatus 6 on the socket holding frame to prevent incorrect plugging, and the male protective grounding contact 53 plugs into the female protective grounding contact 53’, to achieve overall protective grounding in the modular plug-in connector system, thereby improving the electrical performance and electrical reliability of the modular plug-in connector system, which can thereby withstand high current impacts.

[0038] In addition, a material of an outer shell of the modular plug-in connector system may achieve high corrosion resistance, withstanding 500 h of salt spray, highly suited to use in harsh outdoor environments.

[0039] Although various aspects or features of the present invention are shown in combination in the figures, a person skilled in the art will clearly understand that the combinations shown and discussed are not the only feasible combinations, unless otherwise stated. In particular, mutually corresponding units or features in different embodiments as a whole can be interchanged.

[0040] Key to the drawings

[0041] 1 plug

[0042] 2 socket

[0043] 3 locking hoop

[0044] 10 plug housing

[0045] 101 201 locking moulded part

[0046] 102 202 shoulder part

[0047] 103 locking pin

[0048] 203 support pin

[0049] 11 plug module

[0050] 21 socket module

[0051] 12 plug holding frame

[0052] 111 211 contact

[0053] 121 221 undercut part

[0054] 122 222 clamping arm

[0055] 123 223 clamping protrusion

[0056] 124 clamping window

[0057] 20 socket housing

[0058] 22 socket holding frame

[0059] 204 sealing ring

[0060] 31 supporting accommodating part

[0061] 32 locking accommodating part

[0062] 33 rear wall

[0063] 34 sidewall

[0064] 35 lower wall

[0065] 35’ upper wall

[0066] 36 manipulation mechanism

[0067] 4 protective grounding plate

[0068] 41 intermediate part

[0069] 42 side wing part 1 421 clamping window 2 recess opening 3 contact strip 4 projecting piece 2 contact arm 5’ push-in protective grounding contact carrier busbar actuator 53’ protective grounding contact encoding apparatus

Claims

Claims1. Modular plug-in connector system, comprising a plug (1 ) and a socket (2), wherein the plug (1 ) comprises a plug housing (10) and a modular plug holding frame (12) for accommodating at least one plug module (11 ), wherein the socket comprises a socket housing (20) and a modular socket holding frame (22) for accommodating at least one socket module (21 ), characterized in that overall protective grounding of the modular plug-in connector system is achieved with a protective grounding assembly respectively arranged on the plug holding frame (12) and the socket holding frame (22).

2. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 1 , wherein the protective grounding assemblies both comprise a protective grounding plate (4) and a push-in protective grounding contact carrier (5, 5’).

3. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 2, wherein the pushin protective grounding contact carrier (5, 5’) comprises a busbar (51 ), an actuator (52), a spring and a protective grounding contact (53, 53’).

4. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 3, wherein the protective grounding plate (4) is a stamped bent member, which comprises an intermediate part (41 ) and two side wing parts (42) that are perpendicularly bent from two opposite sides of the intermediate part, wherein the intermediate part (41 ) comprises a recess opening (412) that has a contact strip (413) at each of two opposite sides, and the contact strip is preferably bent perpendicularly relative to the intermediate part (41 ); moreover, the side wing parts (42) both have a contact arm (422) at a free end thereof.

5. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 4, wherein the contact strip (413) of the recess opening (412) is in electrical contact with the corresponding busbar (51 ) and is then electrically connected to the protective grounding contact (53) of the plug (1 ) and the protective grounding contact (53’) of the socket (2), wherein the contact arms (422) are respectively in electrical contact with the plug housing (10) and the socket housing (20).

6. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 5, wherein the protective grounding plate (4) is attached to a side of the plug holding frame (12) or the socket holding frame (22), wherein the intermediate part (41 ) and the side wing part (42) are both provided with at least one clamping window (411 , 421 ) to clamp to a corresponding clamping protrusion on the plug holding frame (12) or the socket holding frame (22).

7. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 6, wherein the side of the plug holding frame (12) or the socket holding frame (22) to which the protective grounding plate (4) is attached is provided with an accommodating part for the push-in protective grounding contact carrier (5, 5’) and an accommodating part for an encoding apparatus (6).

8. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 7, wherein the side of the plug holding frame (12) or the socket holding frame (22) to which the protective grounding plate (4) is attached is provided with a locking arm (122 or 222), an end part of the locking arm being provided with a locking protrusion (123 or 223), and the locking protrusion being joined, by locking, into a locking moulded part (101 or 201 ), which is preferably configured as a recess, on an inner wall of the plug housing (10) or the socket housing9. Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 8, wherein a side face adjacent to one side of the plug holding frame (12) or the socket holding frame (22) that is provided with the locking arm (122 or 222) is provided with an undercut part (121 or 221 ), and the undercut part abuts a shoulder part (102 or 202) on an inner wall of the plug housing (10) or the socket housing (20) and interacts therewith.

10. Modular plug-in connector system according to any one of Claims 1 to 9, wherein the modular plug-in connector system is provided with a locking hoop (3) for reversibly locking the plug (1 ) and the socket (2), wherein the locking hoop (3) is pivotably supported on a support pin (203) of the socket housing (20) by means of a supporting accommodating part (31 ), and, by means of a locking accommodating part (32), can clamp to the locking pin (103) of the plug housing (10) in a locking state.11 . Modular plug-in connector system according to Claim 1 , wherein the plug holding frame (12) and the socket holding frame (22) respectively accommodate exactly two modules (11 , 21 ) or four half-modules, or one module (11 , 21 ) and two half-modules.

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