Filter arrangement for high-voltage connector and high-voltage connector

Abstract

A filter assembly for a high-voltage connector is disclosed. The filter assembly has a first and a second bus bar, a filter circuit disposed on a circuit carrier, a ring core, and a filter housing. Each bus bar has a first terminal section, a second terminal section, and a connecting section between the first terminal section and the second terminal section. The filter circuit, the ring core, and at least a part of the first and second bus bars are disposed in the filter housing. The first and second bus bars extend substantially parallel to each other and through the ring core. The circuit carrier is disposed in a region of the filter housing in which the connecting section of each of the first and second bus bars is accommodated.

Claims

1. A filter assembly for a high-voltage connector, comprising: a first and a second bus bar, each bus bar having a first terminal section, a second terminal section formed as a plug contact, and a connecting section between the first terminal section and the second terminal section; a filter circuit disposed on a circuit carrier; a ring core; a filter housing in which the filter circuit, the ring core, and at least a part of the first and second bus bars are disposed, the first and second bus bars extending substantially parallel to each other and through the ring core, the circuit carrier disposed in a region of the filter housing in which the connecting section of each of the first and second bus bars is accommodated; and a plurality of filter terminals extending through the filter housing separate from the first and second bus bars and electrically contacting the filter circuit.

2. The filter assembly of claim 1, wherein the first terminal section is connected to a first connector of the high-voltage connector.

3. The filter assembly of claim 2, wherein the second terminal section is connected to a second connector of the high-voltage connector.

4. The filter assembly of claim 3, wherein the ring core is formed from a magnetic material.

5. The filter assembly of claim 3, wherein the second terminal section of each of the first and second bus bars connects to a mating plug connector.

6. The filter assembly of claim 5, wherein the second terminal section of each of the first and second bus bars extends as a rectilinear prolongation from the connecting section of each of the first and second bus bars.

7. The filter assembly of claim 1, wherein the ring core is torus-shaped and a central axis of the ring core extends along the connecting section of each of the first and second bus bars.

8. The filter assembly of claim 1, wherein the filter housing has a base body in which the first and second bus bars and the circuit carrier are disposed and a cover fixed to the base body enclosing the filter housing.

9. The filter assembly of claim 8, wherein the base body and the cover are interlocked.

10. The filter assembly of claim 1, wherein the filter circuit is spaced apart and electrically isolated from the first and second bus bars inside the filter housing.

11. A high-voltage connector, comprising: a first connector contacting a power source; a second connector contacting a power consumer; a connector housing; and a plurality of filter assemblies disposed in the connector housing and connecting the first and second connectors, each filter assembly having a first and a second bus bar, each bus bar having a first terminal section connected to the first connector, a second terminal section formed as a plug contact connected to the second connector, and a connecting section between the first terminal section and the second terminal section, a filter circuit disposed on a circuit carrier, a ring core, and a filter housing in which the filter circuit, the ring core, and at least a part of the first and second bus bars are disposed, the first and second bus bars extending substantially parallel to each other and through the ring core, the circuit carrier disposed in a region of the filter housing in which the connecting section of each of the first and second bus bars is accommodated, each filter assembly having a separate filter housing.

12. The high-voltage connector of claim 11, wherein the first terminal section of each of the first and second bus bars is connected by a screw to the first connector.

13. The high-voltage connector of claim 12, wherein the first connector is a plug connector.

14. The high-voltage connector of claim 11, wherein the connecting section of each of the first and second bus bars of each of the plurality of filter assemblies extend parallel to one another.

15. The high-voltage connector of claim 14, further comprising a shielding disposed in the connector housing and at least partly surrounding the plurality of filter assemblies.

16. The high-voltage connector of claim 11, wherein at least one of the first and second connectors hermetically seals the filter assembly.

17. The high-voltage connector of claim 11, wherein each filter assembly has a plurality of filter terminals extending through the filter housing separate from the first and second bus bars and electrically contacting the filter circuit.

18. The high-voltage connector of claim 17, further comprising a plurality of external components attached to the connector housing.

19. The high-voltage connector of claim 18, wherein the plurality of external components are electrically connected to the plurality of filter terminals.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a filter assembly according to the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the filter assembly of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a high-voltage connector having a plurality of filter assemblies according to the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a portion of the high-voltage connector of FIG. 3; and

(6) FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the portion of the high-voltage connector of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

(7) Embodiments of the present invention will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the invention to those skilled in the art.

(8) A filter assembly 100 according to the invention is shown generally in FIGS. 1 and 2. The filter assembly 100 has a first bus bar 102, a second bus bar 104, a filter housing 112, a ring core 120, and a filter circuit 125.

(9) Each of the first and second bus bars 102, 104, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a first terminal section 106 and a second terminal section 108, wherein the first and second terminal sections 106, 108 are connected to one another via a connecting section 110. The second terminal sections 108 are designed as plug contacts. The second terminal sections 108 extend as a rectilinear prolongation in a straight line from the connecting section 110 and, as shown in FIG. 2, through the ring core 120. The first terminal sections 106 are terminal lugs having screw threads. The first terminal sections 106 are bent by 90 relative to the connecting section 110 in order to enable screwing along a longitudinal direction 122. The bus bars 102, 104 possess good current-carrying capacity and, due to the integrated configuration of plug contacts, have reduced losses.

(10) The filter housing 112, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, has a base body 114 and a cover 116. The base body 114 and the cover 116 are fixed to one another via locking connections 118. As shown in FIG. 2, locking openings 132 of the base body 114 interact with corresponding locking tabs 134 at the cover 116. The base body 114 and cover 116 may alternatively be connected by ultrasonic welding, a glue connection or another suitable connection technique known to those with ordinary skill in the art.

(11) The ring core 120 and the filter circuit 125 are accommodated in the filter housing 112, as shown in FIG. 2.

(12) The filter circuit 125, as shown in FIG. 2, is arranged on a circuit carrier 126 disposed in the base body 114. The filter circuit 125 has a plurality of electronic components 128 and electrically conductive terminal lugs 130 disposed on the circuit carrier 126 and connected to filter terminals 124. The filter terminals 124 extend through the filter housing 112 and contact the filter circuit 125. The circuit carrier 126 is disposed in the filter housing 112 such that a plane defined by the circuit carrier 126 extends along the longitudinal direction 122, parallel to the bus bars 102, 104. The circuit carrier 126 may alternatively extend transversely or perpendicularly to the bus bars 102, 104.

(13) The ring core 120 is formed from a magnetic material, and as shown in FIG. 2, may be formed by a torus-shaped ferrite ring. As would be understood by one with ordinary skill in the art, the ring core 120 may also be formed in other shapes symmetrical with regard to a longitudinal central axis.

(14) The bus bars 102, 104 are held in the base body 114 via a press-fit and the ring core 120 is disposed in the filter housing 112. The first and second bus bars 102, 104 extend substantially parallel to each other and the connecting sections 110 of the bus bars 102, 104 extend through the ring core 120 along the longitudinal central axis, with at least a portion of the first and second bus bars 102, 104 disposed in the filter housing 112.

(15) The circuit carrier 126 is disposed in a region of the filter housing 112 in which the connecting sections 110 are accommodated. The circuit carrier 126 is disposed above or underneath the ring core 120 and along the bus bars 102, 104. The circuit carrier 126 may alternatively be disposed within the opening of the ring core 120 and between the bus bars 102, 104. As would be understood by one with ordinary skill in the art, is also possible to provide several ring cores 120 in the filter housing 112.

(16) Due to the design of the filter assembly 100 according to the invention as a closed module, any number of such filter assemblies 100 can be installed in a simple manner in a high-voltage connector 200 according to the present invention.

(17) The high-voltage connector 200 according to the present invention having a first filter assembly 100A and a second filter assembly 100B is shown in FIGS. 3-5. The filter assembly 100A corresponds to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, while the filter assembly 100B is constructed according to the same principles but has somewhat different dimensions. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3-5, the high-voltage connector 200 comprises a plurality of filter assemblies 100A, 100B each having a separate filter housing 112. Alternatively, the plurality of filter assemblies 100A, 100B may have an integrated common filter housing.

(18) The high-voltage connector 200, as shown in FIG. 3, has a connector housing 136 formed by two half shells 136A, 136B which are screwed together. The filter assemblies 100A, 100B are disposed within the connector housing 136 and connect a first connector 140 to a second connector 144.

(19) The first terminal sections 106 of the filter assemblies 100A, 100B are respectively coupled, via a screw and corresponding lead frames 138, to a first connector 140 which can be connected to a first mating plug connector 142 and a battery or other power source. Two second connectors 144, as shown in FIG. 3, are provided which can be connected to corresponding second mating plug connectors 146 and a power consumer. The second terminal sections 108 of the bus bars 102, 104 of each filter assembly 100A, 100B, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, directly form plug contacts of the second connectors 144 and directly electrically contact the second mating plug connectors 146.

(20) The high-voltage connector 200 also has a shielding 148 disposed in the connector housing 136 and at least partly surrounding the two filter assemblies 100A, 100B to eliminate disturbance variables. External components 150 are attached externally to the housing half shell 136 B and are connected to the filter terminals 124 of the filter assemblies 100A, 100B.

(21) As shown in FIG. 4, the bus bars 102, 104 of each filter assembly 100A, 100B extend through ring cores 120 held in the filter housings 112. The connecting sections 110 of the bus bars 102, 104 are held in the base body 114 by a press fit. The bus bars 102, 104 of each filter assembly 100A, 100B may be fixed in an inner insulator 152 of one of the second connectors 144. The circuit carriers 126, as shown in FIG. 4, are disposed parallel to the direction of extension of the connection sections 110 to save space. The second connectors 144, as shown in FIG. 4, have sealing elements 154 providing hermetic sealing of the interior of the connector housing 136 from the ingress of moisture or dust.

(22) Advantageously, in the filter assembly 100 according to the invention, because the bus bars 102, 104 extend through the ring core 120, the filtering and inductive shielding of the bus bars 102, 104 can be performed in a particularly space-saving manner. The mechanical connections of the bus bars 102, 104 are stable and satisfy a motor vehicle's existing high requirements with regard to vibration resistance and temperature resistance. Furthermore, because the second terminal sections 108 of the bus bars 102, 104 directly form plug contacts of the second connectors 144 and directly electrically contact the second mating plug connectors 146, the integrated design of the high-voltage connector 200 reduces the number of electrical connections and electrically conductive components, requiring minimal installation space, while increasing filtering efficiency. Additionally, because additional plug contacts no longer have to be mounted for the second connector 144, the mounting outlay of the high-voltage connector 200 is reduced, the transfer resistance is kept low, and the reliability is increased.