PLUG CONNECTOR WITH SCREW CONNECTION

Abstract

Plug-in connection, comprising a plug-in connector (1) and a mating plug-in connector that can be plugged together with the latter, wherein the plug-in connector (1) has a housing (2) into which an electrical conductor (3) is inserted, wherein the electrical conductor (3) is electrically contacted with a contact partner (4), likewise arranged in the housing (2), by means of their surfaces coming to rest on each other, wherein the contact partner (4) is contacted, in particular via its circumferential end face (5), with a contact partner of the mating plug-in connector in such a way that the end faces come to rest on each other, and the plug-in connector (1) and mating plug-in connector are plugged together, wherein this plugging-together is effected and supported by a tightening means, in particular a screw (6), wherein an insulation, in particular an insulating element (12) or a coating of the screw (6), is provided, wherein this insulation has the effect that the crew (6) does not touch voltage-carrying parts such as the electrical conductor (3) and/or the contact partner (4).

Claims

1. A plug connection comprising: a main plug connector having a housing; a mating plug connector that can be plugged with the main connector; an electrical conductor inserted into the housing; a contact in the housing, electrically connected with the conductor and having a circumferential end face electrically contactable with an end face of the mating plug connector in such a way that the end faces bear on each other when the main connector and mating connector are plugged together; a screw fastener bearing on the contact, threadable into the mating conductor, and rotatable to press the end face of contact against the end face of the mating conductor; and an insulating element or a coating of the screw, ensuring that the screw has no contact with voltage-conducting parts such as the electrical conductor and/or the contact.

2. A plug connection comprising; a main plug connector having a housing; a mating plug connector that can be plugged together with the main plug connector; an electrical conductor inserted into the housing and electrically connected with the electrical conductor; a contact also in the housing and having a circumferential end face engageable with an end face of the mating plug connector in such a way that the end faces bear on each other when the main plug connector and mating plug connector are plugged together; and a screw fastener entirely of an electrically nonconductive material and bearing on the contact and threaded into the mating fastener to press the end faces together.

3. The plug-in connection according to claim 1, wherein the insulating element has a throughgoing hole for the screw fastener.

4. The plug-in connection according to claim 1, wherein the insulating element has a circumferential flange with which it comes to rest on the conductor around a hole in the electrical conductor.

5. The plug-in connection according to claim 4, wherein the insulating element has a circumferential insertion bevel below the flange, so that the insulating element can be inserted in an aligned and defined manner into the hole in the electrical conductor.

6. The plug-in connection according to one of claim 3, wherein the surface of the throughgoing hole for the fastener is smooth.

7. The plug-in connection according to characterized wherein the insulating element has an insulating sleeve the circumferential flange of the insulating element, and the circumferential flange and the insulating sleeve consist of the same electrically nonconductive material or consist of different electrically nonconductive materials.

8. The plug-in connection according to claim 7, wherein the material of the insulating sleeve is polybutylene terephthalate or polyether ether ketone and the circumferential flange consists of PEEK GF20 or a ceramic material or of an anodized metal material.

9. The plug-in connection according to claim 7, wherein the insulating element consists entirely of an unfilled plastic or of a filled plastic, in particular PEEK GF20 or PEEK GF30, or of a ceramic material or of an anodized metal material.

10. The plug-in connection according to claim 1, further comprising: a cover on the end turned away from the free end of the screw, in particular in the region of the screw head.

11. The plug-in connection according to claim 10, further comprising, in addition to the cover, a further cover on the housing.

Description

[0018] Further embodiments of the invention from which the corresponding advantages result are described in the dependent claims and are also explained in connection with the following description of the figures.

[0019] Both an embodiment from the prior art (FIG. 1) and an embodiment according to the invention (FIGS. 2 to 4) are shown in the drawing.

[0020] FIG. 1 shows the prior-art embodiment of a main plug connector 1 known from the above-cited American patent. The latter has a housing 2 into which projects an electrical conductor 3, for example a busbar for high-voltage applications. The electrical conductor 3 is electrically contacted with a contact 4 that is also in the housing 2, in that its surfaces engage each other. In this embodiment, the contact 4 is in turn formed as a sleeve that can but however does not have to be contacted with its circumferential end face 5 with a contact (not shown) of a mating plug connector in such a way that the end faces, more precisely their surfaces come into contact with each other. In order to accomplish this, the main plug connector 1 and the mating plug connector (not shown) are plugged together and this mating process is effected and aided by a fastener that in this embodiment is a screw 6.

[0021] In order to prevent electrical contact with the free end of the screw 6, a cap 7 made of an electrically nonconductive material, such as a plastic, for example, is at this end.

[0022] The end region facing away from the free end of the screw 6, namely the screw head, is provided with a further cover 8 that also prevents electrical contact with the screw 6. In addition, a further cover 9 is provided on the housing 2, in particular for securing the cover 8 in place. The cover 9 and the housing 2 can optionally also be formed in one piece.

[0023] In order to prevent touching of the contact 4, an insulating sleeve 10 made of a also electrically nonconductive material surrounds it.

[0024] The contact 4 has a hole for the screw 6 that has a longitudinally extending external screw thread 11. The external thread 11 allows the screw 6 to be screwed into a corresponding internal thread of the mating plug connector and thus the plug-in process and the permanent fixing of the main plug connector in the mating plug connector (not shown) are effected.

[0025] The lower face of the circumferential flange of the head of the screw 6 presses on the electrical conductor 3, as a result of which it is in turn pressed onto the contact 4. This compressive force is further applied after the screw 6 has been tightened to the contact of the mating plug connector, so that the circumferential end face 5 of the contact 4 comes to rest on the corresponding circumferential end face of the contact of the mating plug connector in order to bring about a defined contact force and thus form a connection for energy transmission.

[0026] As already stated, the disadvantage of this prior art is that the cap 7 must be provided to avoid electrical contact with the voltage-carrying screw 6

[0027] While the known and disadvantageous state of the art has been described above with reference to FIG. 1, an advantageous embodiment according to the invention is described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4.

[0028] In the case of a substantially comparable construction of the main plug connector 1, an insulating element 12 is provided according to the present invention, the design and arrangement of which is shown in the main plug connector 1 in FIG. 2. This insulating element 12 has the effect that the screw 6 (not shown in FIG. 2) has no contact with voltage-conducting parts (such as the electrical conductor 3 and the contact 4). The insulating element 12 is between the electrical conductor 3 and the contact 4, in particular in its hole. It has a throughgoing hole 13 for the fastener, in particular the screw 6. It has a circumferential flange 14 with which it comes to rest on the surface around the hole in the electrical conductor 3. Below this flange 14, a preferably circumferential insertion bevel 15 is provided so that the insulating element 12 can be inserted in an aligned and defined manner into the hole in the electrical conductor 3, also here a busbar.

[0029] The insulating element 12 is fixed at its intended installation location, for example, by insertion into the hole in the electrical conductor 3, adhesive bonding, pressing, screwing or the like.

[0030] FIG. 3 shows the main plug connector 1 on the basis of the arrangement according to FIG. 2, with the screw 6 in place. The position of the screw 6 is such that the mating plug connector has not yet been inserted or attached to the main plug connector 1. Since the insulating element 12 does not have a thread in its feed-through hole 13, the external thread 11 of the screw 6 is also not in engagement with the insulating element 12, so that it is freely movable through the hole 13. This advantageously causes the attachment of the mating plug connector to the main plug connector 1 to press the screw 6 up as shown in viewing FIG. 3, so that a spacing D is formed between the surface of the circumferential flange 14 and the circumferential lower face of the screw head of the screw 6.

[0031] After the main plug connector 1 is brought into contact with the mating plug connector and has already been partially inserted, the screw 6 is turned by hand (since it is protected against electrical contact on the one hand, due to its configuration in particular its material and/or its coating itself, and possibly additionally by the cover 8) or with an electrically insulating tool (with or without a cover 8) so that rotation movement of the screw 6 screws its external thread 11 into a corresponding internal thread of the housing or of the contact of the mating plug connector, so that, as a result, the spacing D is reduced, preferably as shown in FIG. 4, to zero.

[0032] FIG. 4 very clearly shows that the lower face of the circumferential screw head of the screw 6 presses on the electrical conductor 3 via the insulating circumferential flange 14 of the insulating element 12 and from there again onto the contact 4, so that as a result the circumferential end face 5 of the contact 4 moves into electrical contacting with and is permanently fixed to the corresponding circumferential end face of the contact of the mating plug-in connector.

[0033] So that axial movement of the fastener, in particular of the screw 6, is not impeded in its movement that has been described above with respect to FIGS. 2 to 4, the surface of the throughgoing hole 13 for the fastener, in particular the screw 6, is smooth. This means that the throughgoing hole 13 is not threaded.

[0034] Instead of an insulating element 11 that, as shown in FIG. 2, is fixedly on the electrical conductor 3 and/or the contact 4, it can also be below the screw head of the screw 6 and move therewith. It is also conceivable that the insulating element 12 in turn has an internal thread that corresponds to the external thread 11 of the screw 6. The insulating element 12 could also be a separate component that is pushed onto the external thread 11 of the screw 6 and is mounted therewith.

[0035] The mating plug connector can, like the main plug connector, also be at the end of an electrical conductor, in particular a busbar. However, it can also be a component of an electrical device, an battery, in particular a connection of a battery of an electric vehicle, or the like.

TABLE-US-00001 LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 1 Plug-in connector 2 Housing 3 Electrical conductor 4 Contact 5 Circumferential end face 6 Screw 7 Cap 8 Cover 9 Cover 10 Insulating sleeve 11 External thread 12 Insulating element 13 Throughgoing hole 14 Circumferential flange 15 Circumferential insertion bevel