ELECTRIC CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY, HIGH-VOLTAGE TERMINAL AND METHOD FOR ASSEMBLING

Abstract

An electric connector assembly for a high-voltage terminal including a contact tube made of electroconductive material, a high-voltage terminal comprising an electric connector assembly and a busbar made of electroconductive material, and a method for assembling a high-voltage terminal.

Claims

1. An electric connector assembly for a high-voltage terminal comprising: a contact tube made of electroconductive material having a central cavity extending along a longitudinal axis, the contact tube having a front end with an access opening towards the central cavity for receiving a male terminal, and a rear end with a connection portion; a contact spring made of electroconductive material having a plurality of spring arms, the contact spring being arranged in the central cavity; and a protective pin made of dielectric material arranged in the central cavity, the protective pin having a locking portion adapted to establish a positive locking with the connection portion of the contact tube.

2. The electric connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion comprises a collar protruding inward to form a rear opening that is narrower than the central cavity.

3. The electric connector assembly according to claim 2, wherein the locking portion of the protective pin comprises a body adapted to fit into the rear opening, a flange protruding from the body to abut against the collar and at least one locking arm deflectably attached to the body, the at least one locking arm extending through the rear opening to engage the collar opposite to the flange.

4. The electric connector assembly according to claim 3, wherein the flange abut against the collar inside the central cavity and the at least one locking arm engages the collar at its side facing away from the central cavity.

5. The electric connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the central cavity is defined by an inner surface of the contact tube, wherein the central cavity has a first section and a second section, wherein the first section is wider than the second section, the contact spring being arranged in the first section of the central cavity.

6. The electric connector assembly according to claim 5, wherein the first section is formed as a notch in the inner surface, notch sidewalls forming abutments for restraining the contact spring.

7. The electric connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the contact spring has at least one open ring with a gap, the spring arms extending in parallel to the longitudinal axis from the ring.

8. The electric connector assembly according to claim 1, wherein the contact spring has two open rings, the spring arms extending in parallel to the longitudinal axis L between the rings.

9. The electric connector assembly according to claim 7, wherein the gap extends over a portion of a circumference of the ring of 5% to 30%.

10. An electric connector assembly for a high-voltage terminal comprising: a contact tube made of electroconductive material having a central cavity extending along a longitudinal axis, the contact tube having a front end with an access opening towards the central cavity for receiving a male terminal, and a rear end with a connection portion; a contact spring made of electroconductive material having a plurality of spring arms, the contact spring being arranged in the central cavity; an a protective pin made of dielectric material arranged in the central cavity, the protective pin having a locking portion adapted to establish a positive locking with the connection portion of the contact tube, wherein the connection portion comprises a collar protruding inward to form a rear opening that is narrower than the central cavity.

11. The electric connector assembly according to claim 10, wherein the locking portion of the protective pin comprises a body adapted to fit into the rear opening, a flange protruding from the body to abut against the collar and at least one locking arm deflectably attached to the body, the at least one locking arm extending through the rear opening to engage the collar opposite to the flange.

12. The electric connector assembly according to claim 11, wherein the flange abuts against the collar inside the central cavity and the at least one locking arm engages the collar at its side facing away from the central cavity.

13. The electric connector assembly according to claim 10, wherein the contact spring has at least one open ring with a gap, the spring arms extending in parallel to the longitudinal axis from the ring.

14. The electric connector assembly according to claim 10, wherein the contact spring has two open rings, the spring arms extending in parallel to the longitudinal axis L between the rings.

15. A high-voltage terminal comprising an electric connector assembly according to claim 1 and a busbar made of electroconductive material, the busbar having a reception opening, the connection portion having a rim forming an outer surface that fits into the reception opening.

16. The high-voltage terminal according to claim 15, wherein the rim is press-fittingly inserted into the reception opening.

17. A method for assembling a high-voltage terminal comprising the steps: providing a contact tube made of electroconductive material having a central cavity extending along a longitudinal axis L, the contact tube having a front end with an access opening towards the central cavity for receiving a male terminal, and a rear end with a connection portion; providing a protective pin made of dielectric material, the protective pin having a locking portion; inserting the protective pin into the central cavity with the locking portion ahead through an access opening at a front end of the contact tube until the locking portion contacts a collar forming a rear opening that is narrower than the central cavity; and establishing a positive locking of the locking portion at the connection portion of the contact tube.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the protective pin is inserted into the central cavity with the locking portion ahead through an access opening at a front end of the contact tube until the locking portion contacts a collar forming a rear opening that is narrower than the central cavity, wherein subsequently a body of the locking portion is pushed into the rear opening, thereby deflecting at least one locking arm inside an outer perimeter of the body until a flange protruding from the body abuts against the collar and the at least one locking arm extends through the rear opening to engage the collar opposite to the flange.

19. The method according to claim 17, further comprising the steps of providing a contact spring made of electroconductive material having a plurality of spring arms, tensioning the tubular contact spring to reduce its diameter to fit through the access opening, inserting the contact spring into the central cavity through the access opening; 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 that restrains the contact spring to in the first section of the central cavity.

20. The method according to claim 17, further comprising the steps of providing a busbar made of electroconductive material, the busbar having a reception opening, press-fittingly inserting a rim of the connection portion into the reception opening.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a high-voltage terminal with an electric connector assembly;

[0028] FIG. 2 is a further perspective view of the high-voltage terminal of FIG. 1;

[0029] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a protective pin as a detail of the high-voltage terminal of FIG. 1;

[0030] FIG. 4 is a section along a longitudinal axis of the high-voltage terminal of FIG. 1;

[0031] FIG. 5 is a cross section of the high-voltage terminal along a line A-A in FIG. 4;

[0032] FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the high-voltage terminal of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] FIGS. 1 through 6 show an embodiment of a high-voltage terminal comprising an electric connector assembly 9. FIGS. 1 through 6 will be described together. The high-voltage terminal has a busbar 24 made of electroconductive material, the busbar having a first base 27 with a reception opening 25 and a second base 28, which can be connected to a conductor 29 of a wire 30. The electric connector assembly 9 has a connection portion 8 with a rim 26 forming an outer surface that fits into the round reception opening 25. The rim 26 can be press-fittingly inserted into the reception opening 25 without regard of their relative rotational positions about a common longitudinal axis L.

[0034] The electric connector assembly 9 of the high-voltage terminal comprises a contact tube 1 made of electroconductive material having a central cavity 6 extending along a longitudinal axis L, the contact tube 1 having a front end 4 with an access opening 5 towards the central cavity 6 for receiving a male terminal (not depicted), and a rear end 7 with the connection portion 8; further a contact spring 2 made of electroconductive material having a plurality of spring arms 12, the contact spring 2 being arranged in the central cavity 6; and further yet a protective pin 3 made of dielectric material arranged in the central cavity 6, the protective pin 3 having a locking portion 14 adapted to establish a positive locking with the connection portion 8 of the contact tube 1. The connection portion 8 comprises a collar 15 protruding inward to form a rear opening 17 that is narrower than the central cavity 6. The contact tube 1 has generally the form of a hollow cylinder, wherein a diameter of the rim 26 at the connection portion 8 is smaller than a diameter of the rest of the contact tube 1.

[0035] The protective pin 3 is depicted in FIG. 3 as a detail. The locking portion 14 of the protective pin 3 comprises a body 16 adapted to fit into the round rear opening 17. A flange 18 protrudes from the body 16 to abut against the collar 15. In the embodiment, two cantilevered locking arms 19 are attached to the body 16, which are deflectable. The locking arms 19 each have a hook 32 near their free ends 31, extending radially outward, and a ramp 33 chamfering radially inward towards 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 to retreat inside an outer perimeter of the body 16. When the flange 18 abuts against the collar 15, the locking arms 19 extend through the rear opening 17, the free ends 31 extending beyond the rear opening 17. The inwardly biased locking arms 19 snap back outward to engage the collar 15 with the hooks 32 from outside the central cavity 6, thus positively locking the protective pin 6 to the contact tube 6.

[0036] The central cavity 6 is defined by an inner surface of the contact tube 1, which is best seen in the sectional view of FIG. 4. The central cavity has a first cylindrical section 10 and a second cylindrical section 11, wherein a diameter of the first section 10 is wider than a diameter of the second section 11. The contact spring 2 is arranged in the first section 10 of the central cavity 6. The first section 10 is formed as a notch in the inner surface, notch sidewalls 20, 21 forming abutments for restraining the contact spring 2 to the first section. The contact spring 2, which is best seen in the exploded view of FIG. 6, has two open rings 22 with a gap 23. The spring arms 12 extend in parallel to the longitudinal axis L between the rings 22. The gaps 23 may extend over a portion of a circumference of the rings 22 of about 15%, which allows to reduce a diameter of the contact spring 2 by tensioning.

[0037] An exemplary method for assembling the high-voltage terminal is described with regard to FIG. 6. First, the busbar 24 and the contact tube 1 are provided, which are mated by inserting the rim 26 of the connection portion 8 into the reception opening 25, for example by press-fitting. Subsequently, the protective pin 3 is provided, which is inserted into the central cavity 6 with the locking portion 14 ahead through the access opening 5 at the front end 4 of the contact tube 1 until a the locking portion 14 abuts against the collar 15. The positive locking of the locking portion 14 at the connection portion 8 of the contact tube 1 is established by the locking arms 19, which snap-fittingly engage the collar 15 from outside the central cavity 6 with the hooks 32. Subsequently, the contact spring 2 is provided, which is tensioned to reduce its diameter to fit through the access opening 5, and inserted into the central cavity 6 through the access opening 5. Inside the central cavity, the contact spring 2 is expanded in the first section 10 to its original diameter. 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 restrained to in the first section 10 of the central cavity 6. The person skilled in the art is aware that the method can be executed in various sequences, for example, first assembling the electric connector assembly 9, before it is subsequently mated with the busbar 24.

[0038] Those with ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that various modifications and alternatives for the described and illustrated embodiments can be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure, and that the various elements and features of one example described and illustrated herein can be combined with various elements and features of another example without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the particular examples disclosed herein have been selected to describe and illustrate examples of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention or its protection, which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any and all equivalents thereof.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0039] 1 Contact tube [0040] 2 Contact spring [0041] 3 Protective pin [0042] 4 Front end [0043] 5 Access opening [0044] 6 Central cavity [0045] 7 Rear end [0046] 8 Connection portion [0047] 9 Electric connector assembly [0048] 10 First section [0049] 11 Second section [0050] 12 Spring arms [0051] 14 Locking portion [0052] 15 Collar [0053] 16 Body [0054] 17 Rear opening [0055] 18 Flange [0056] 19 Locking arm [0057] 20 Sidewall [0058] 21 Sidewall [0059] 22 Ring [0060] 23 Gap [0061] 24 Busbar [0062] 25 Reception opening [0063] 26 Rim [0064] 27 First base [0065] 28 Second base [0066] 29 Conductor [0067] 30 Wire [0068] 31 Free end [0069] 32 Hook [0070] L Longitudinal axis