Car charging connector

Abstract

The invention relates to a plug-in connector (10) that has an insulation insert (1) and at least one contact element (2), wherein the at least one contact element (2) is connected to a conductor of a cable, wherein the insulation insert (1) has at least one receptacle, in which the at least one contact element (2) and the at least one section of the conductor connected thereto are provided, wherein a first seal (7) that seals the insulation insert (1) is provided in the at least one receptacle, wherein the at least one contact element (2) is sealed in the insulation insert (1) using the first seal (7) and wherein the conductor connected to the at least one contact element (2) is sealed in the insulation insert (1) using a second seal (8). According to the invention, the at least one contact element is held in a receptacle that is substantially formed from an opening (3) and two legs (4) axially protruding therefrom.

Claims

1. An electrical plug-in connector comprising, an insulation insert comprising an enclosed wall that extends in a longitudinal direction between one end defining a plug-in side and an opposite end defining a connection side, said insulation insert including at least one receptacle extending in a direction between the plug-in side and connection side, said receptacle having a plug-in side opening and a connection side opening, a flat disc positioned at said connection side opening, said flat disc having two legs located adjacent said connection side opening and extending into the receptacle in a direction toward said plug-in side opening, a contact element positioned within said receptacle and protruding from the plug-in side opening, said contact element engaged and retained by said two legs of said flat disc, a conductor of a cable connected to said contact element wherein a section of said cable conductor is within a portion of said contact element, said cable conductor protruding from the connection side opening, a first seal within said receptacle to seal the contact element with respect to the insulation insert on the plug-in side, and a second seal within said receptacle to seal the cable conductor to the insulation insert on the connection side.

2. The plug-in connector according to claim 1, characterised in that the insulation insert is formed in two parts that are sealed to each other through a third seal.

3. The plug-in connector according to claim 1, characterised in that said plug-in side opening and said connection side opening are in alignment with each other.

4. The plug-in connector as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that the insulation insert has a fourth seal that seals the insulation insert in a plugged-in condition.

5. The plug-in connector according to claim 1, characterised in that the insulation insert has at least two contact elements.

6. The plug-in connector according to claim 1, characterised in that said plug-in connector has a circuit breaker to switch the plug-in connector off, said circuit breaker at least partially disposed within a non-conductive material and sealed thereby and, wherein the insulation insert includes at least a further receptacle with a further contact element therewithin, and a conductor connecting said further contact element to said circuit breaker, said connector extending from a connection side opening, and sealed thereto.

7. The plug-in connector according to claim 6, characterised in that the plug-in connector has an actuator that is accessible from the outside.

8. The plug-in connector according to claim 7, characterised in that said circuit breaker can be activated via the actuator to switch the plug-in connector on or off.

9. The plug-in connector according to claim 1, characterised in that the seals are made from the materials perfluorinated rubber (FFKM or FFPM) or polyethylene (PE) or polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) or from a combination of these materials.

Description

EMBODIMENT EXAMPLE

(1) An embodiment example of the invention is shown in the drawings and will be explained in more detail below, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a plug-in connector with an opened half-shell,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of an insulation insert,

(4) FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a first part of the insulation insert,

(5) FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a second part of the insulation insert,

(6) FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the contact elements located in the insulation insert with associated seals, and

(7) FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the contact elements in the second part of the insulation insert.

(8) FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a plug-in connector 10 according to the invention, comprising an insulation insert 1 that is inserted, for illustration purposes, into a half-shell 10a of the plug-in connector 10. The plug-in connector housing is closed with a second half-shell (not shown) that matches the half-shell 10a. The insulation insert 1 is sealed in the plug-in connector housing using a (fourth) seal 15, a so-called moulded seal. The fourth seal 15 has the function of sealing the contact area in the plugged-in condition.

(9) The half-shell 10a of the plug-in connector housing has support shells 16. The second half-shell also comprises such support shells which are in alignment with the support shells 16 of the first half-shell 10a. The cable sheath of the connected multi-core cable is inserted and fixed between the support shells. On one end of the plug-in connector housing, a kink protection element 17 is provided which protects the connected cable from damage. Moreover, it protects the plug-in connector housing against the ingress of dust.

(10) The plug-in connector housing comprises a strain relief element 19 that is provided on the inside of the housing.

(11) The half-shell 10a is provided with threaded bores 18. The half-shells may be connected to each other via a screw connection and in this way form the plug-in connector housing. Via this screw connection, the plug-in connector housing can also be opened again so that service and repair work can be carried out because the plug-in connector housing does not comprise a closed outer sheathing, for example a rubber coating.

(12) The first part 1a of the insulation insert 1 is formed to be substantially cylindrical and the body has two different radii and can therefore also be identified as a double cylinder body. Openings 20 are provided in the insulation insert 1, into which contact elements 2 can be inserted.

(13) A second part 1b of the insulation insert 1 is substantially formed as a flat disc, in which openings 3 are provided which are in alignment with the openings 20 in the first part 1a, as soon as the two parts 1a, 1b are assembled. Two legs 4 axially protrude from each of the openings 3. The legs 4 are slightly bent towards each other in their end regions, i.e. radially inwards. The legs 4 laterally engage on the contact elements 2 and are used to keep the contact elements 2 in their position in the insulation insert 1. The contact elements 2 are fixed, but they have enough play an that the plug-in connector can be easily inserted. If one were to fix the contact elements differently, with less play, then high plug-in forces and a low functionality might result under certain circumstances, The function of the legs 4 can be seen in FIG. 6.

(14) In order to allow the parts 1a, 1b of the insulation insert 1 to be connected to each other in a captive manner, the second part 1b comprises axially protruding latching legs 5 which can in each case engage in latching noses 6 of the first part 1a, which are provided for this purpose. The individual parts 1a, 1b of the insulation insert 1 are sealed via a third seal 14, a so-called flat seal.

(15) The contact elements 2 protrude from an end side of the insulation insert 1. This end side is also referred to as the plug-in side. From the opposite end side of the insulation insert 1, the conductors (not shown) of a multi-core cable protrude, which are connected to the contact elements 2. The contact elements 2 are sealed in the insulation insert 1 via a first seal 7 and the conductors connected thereto via a second seal 8.

(16) The first seal is a so-called O-ring that is inserted in an annular recess of the contact element 2. The second seal is a cable seal.

(17) The seals 7, 8, 14, 15 as mentioned above may be made from an EPDM or an NBR elastomer. Particularly preferably however, the materials perfluorinated rubber (FFKM or FFPM), polyethylene (PE) or polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) are used individually or in combination. As a result, particularly durable sealing properties are achieved.

(18) At least one contact element 2 is connected to a circuit breaker 9 in the insulation insert 1. The conductor between the contact element 2 and the circuit breaker 9 is sealed via a second seal 8.

(19) The circuit breaker can be used to switch the plugged-in plug-in connector off. The circuit breaker 9 is positioned outside of the insulation insert, but within the plug-in connector housing 10a.

(20) In order to seal the circuit breaker 9, the latter is at least partially cast in a non-conductive material. Preferably, the potting compound is an epoxy resin or a rubber compound or glass or a combination of the above-mentioned materials.

(21) The circuit breaker 9 is connected to a control circuit, via which the plug-in connector can be switched off.

(22) The housing of the plug-in connector 10 comprises an actuating means 11 that is accessible from the outside. The actuation means 11 is supported in the plug-in connector housing on a tilt axis 13 and is operatively connected to a spring 12 that drives, upon actuation, the push button 11a of the actuating means 11, which is visible from the outside, back out.

(23) When the push button 11a is actuated, the circuit breaker 9 is activated and the plug-in connector 10 is switched off. No current can flow, Current flow is not released until the actuation force is removed from the push button 11a. This is advantageous for safety reasons.

(24) Moreover, the actuation means 11 is provided with locking means formed as a latching hook 11b. The latching hook 11b engages, in the plugged-in condition, for example in an undercut of a counter connector and/or of a socket (not shown) and latches the two together. The latching between the plug-in connector and the counter connector or the plug-in connector and the socket does not become effective until no force acts on the actuation button 11a any longer. This means that the current flow is not released again until the latching is complete. This, too, is an important safety feature of the plug-in connector 10.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

(25) Insulation insert 11. Actuating means 1a First part 11a Push button 1b Second part 11b Latching hook 2 Contact element 12. Spring 3 Opening 13. Tilt axis 4 Legs 14. Third seal 5 Latching legs 15. Fourth seal 6 Latching nose 16. Support shell 7 First seal 17. Kink protection element 8 Second seal 18. Threaded bore 9 Circuit breaker 19. Stress relief 10 Car charging 20. Openings connector 10a Half-shell