Electrical connecting device having a main body and a displacement body

Abstract

An electrical connecting device having a main body and a displacement body mounted in a linearly movable manner relative to one another in a longitudinal direction. The main body has a cavity that accommodates a longitudinal section of the displacement body or vice versa. The length of the longitudinal section accommodated in the cavity is variable by a relative longitudinal movement of the main body and the displacement body. The main body has conductor tracks extending in the longitudinal direction and insulated from one another. The displacement body has sliding elements insulated from one another and resting on and electrically contacting a contact surface of a respective one of the conductor tracks. The conductor tracks are arranged on a main body surface of the main body. The main body surface is round in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction or is formed by a plurality of surface sections angled in relation to one another. The sliding elements project from a displacement body surface of the displacement body. The displacement body surface is round in the cross-sectional plane or is formed by a plurality of surface sections angled in relation to one another. The contact surfaces of at least two of the conductor tracks are angled in relation to one another.

Claims

1. Electrical connecting device having a main body and a displacement body which are mounted in a linearly movable manner in relation to one another in a longitudinal direction, wherein the main body has a cavity in which a longitudinal section of the displacement body is accommodated or vice versa, wherein the length of the longitudinal section accommodated in the cavity is variable by a relative movement of the main body and the displacement body in the longitudinal direction, characterized in that the main body has a plurality of conductor tracks extending in the longitudinal direction and insulated from one another and the displacement body has a plurality of sliding elements insulated from one another and resting on a contact surface of a respective one of the conductor tracks for electrically contacting the conductor tracks, wherein the conductor tracks are arranged on a main body surface of the main body, which the main body surface is round in a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction or is formed by a plurality of surface sections angled in relation to one another, and/or wherein the sliding elements project from a displacement body surface of the displacement body, which the displacement body surface is round in the cross-sectional plane or is formed by a plurality of surface sections angled in relation to one another, and/or wherein the contact surfaces of at least two of the conductor tracks are angled in relation to one another, and/or wherein the contact surfaces of at least two of the conductor tracks are angled in relation to one another, wherein the main body comprises a sheet-like line carrier that can be bent in a flexible manner at least in sections, supports the conductor tracks and is held in a bent position by way of being inserted in bent form into a tube of the main body and/or by way of two edges of the line carrier being fastened to one another.

2. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the main body and/or the displacement body are each designed as a rod-like hollow body or a rod-like solid body.

3. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the main body has, for at least one of the conductor tracks, an associated further conductor track, wherein the respective conductor track and the respective associated further conductor track are arranged opposite one another on the main body in the or a cross-sectional plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction and are conductively connected to one another, and/or in that the displacement body has, for at least one of the sliding elements, an associated further sliding element, wherein the respective sliding element and the respective associated further sliding element are arranged opposite one another on the displacement body in the cross-sectional plane and are conductively connected to one another.

4. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal section of the displacement body is accommodated in the cavity of the main body, characterized in that the sliding elements are conductively connected to connection lines, wherein firstly the connection lines are routed at least in sections through an inner cavity of the displacement body or outside the cavity or wherein secondly the displacement body is a solid body.

5. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the line carrier has an electromagnetic radiation-shielding sheathing, which is formed in particular by the tube, and/or an electromagnetic radiation-shielding coating.

6. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the conductor tracks and/or the line carrier are/is clamped by an elastically deformed tolerance compensation element at least on one side in the longitudinal direction.

7. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein a sealing means is arranged between the main body and the displacement body.

8. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the respective sliding element is a bending spring, in particular a leaf spring.

9. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the main body forms, for at least one pair of adjacent conductor tracks, a projection which extends between the conductor tracks in the longitudinal direction.

10. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein in each case at least one ground conductor track is arranged in the circumferential direction between at least one of the conductor tracks and a respective further one of the conductor tracks and extends parallel to the respective conductor track in the longitudinal direction of the main body.

11. Electrical connecting device according to claim 1, wherein the main body comprises a respective termination resistor for at least one of the conductor tracks, and/or in that the displacement body comprises a respective termination resistor for at least one of the sliding elements.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) In the drawing:

(2) FIG. 1 schematically shows an exemplary embodiment of an electrical connecting device according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 schematically shows a sectioned view of the connecting device shown in FIG. 1 along line II-II,

(4) FIG. 3 schematically shows a sectioned view of the connecting device shown in FIG. 1 along line III-III, and

(5) FIG. 4 schematically shows a line carrier used in the connecting device according to FIG. 1 before shaping and insertion of said line carrier into a tube for forming the main body.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(6) FIG. 1 shows an electrical connecting device 1 having a main body 2 and a displacement body 3 which are mounted such that they can move in a longitudinal direction, specifically transversely in FIG. 1, in relation to one another. The relative displacement of the main body 2 and the displacement body 3 is performed by an actuator system 27 of the machine shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 shows a section through the connecting device 1 along line II-II and FIG. 3 shows such a section along line III-III. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the main body 2 has a cavity 4 in which a longitudinal section 5 of the displacement body 3 is accommodated. The length of the longitudinal section 5 and therefore the entire extent of the connecting device in the longitudinal direction is variable by a relative movement of the main body 2 and the displacement body 3.

(7) The main body 2 supports a plurality of, in the example ten, conductor tracks 6 which extend in the longitudinal direction. The contact surface 7 of the respective conductor tracks 6 is contacted by a respective sliding element 8, in the example a leaf spring. As shown in FIG. 2, the leaf spring in the example is fastened at one end 9 to the displacement body 3 and additionally contacts a respective connection line 10 which is routed in an inner cavity 24 of the displacement body 3. The other end 25 of the leaf spring is substantially freely movable in the longitudinal direction in order to compensate for a deformation of the leaf spring due to an exertion of force by the contact surface 7.

(8) On the part of the main body 2, the conductor tracks 6 and, on the part of the displacement body 3, the sliding elements 8 or the connection lines 10 contacting them can be contacted by contact means, not illustrated, of the electrical connecting device 1. As a result, an electrical connection with a variable length for a large number of different signals or power lines can be realized with a low level of technical expenditure.

(9) In order to achieve a compact construction of the electrical connecting device 1 in spite of the relatively large number of separate contacts, conductor tracks 6 are used, the contact areas 7 of which, as clearly shown in particular in FIG. 3, are angled in relation to one another. Accordingly, the sliding elements 8 project from the displacement body surface 11 of the displacement body 3 in different directions.

(10) In the example, the displacement body surface 11 is circular. However, the main body surface 12, which supports the conductor tracks 6, is formed from a large number of surface sections 13 angled in relation to one another. Ten of the surface sections 13 each support one of the conductor tracks 6. The remaining surface sections form projections 14 which firstly serve to ensure robust insulation between the various conductor tracks 6 or sliding elements 8. Secondly, these projections 14 can contribute to blocking a relative rotation of the displacement body 3 and the main body 2 when this is not realized by other means, for example by linear routing of the components coupled by means of the connecting device 1 in a machine, in any case.

(11) In principle, ten separate signals or currents could be transmitted with the refinement of the connecting device 1 illustrated in the example. In an advantageous refinement of the connecting device, the respective opposite conductor tracks 6 or sliding elements 8, as is schematically illustrated by the arrow 15 for such a pair in FIG. 3, are conductively connected to one another. As a result, fluctuating contact qualities in the event of a relative movement of the main body 2 and the displacement body 3 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction can be largely compensated for.

(12) If, for example, the displacement body 3 is moved somewhat upward in FIG. 3, somewhat poorer contact of the bottommost sliding element 8 with the bottommost conductor track 6 results since the sliding element 8 is pressed onto the conductor track 6 with a smaller force. However, at the same time, the topmost one of the sliding elements 8 is more strongly compressed owing to this movement and therefore presses onto the contact surface 7 of the topmost conductor track 6 with a higher contact pressure. Since the topmost conductor track 6 and the bottommost conductor track 6 are situated opposite one another and are conductively connected to one another and the same applies to the corresponding sliding elements 8, the potential impairment of one of the contacts is therefore at least largely compensated for by an improvement in the other of the contacts. On account of the relatively large number of conductor tracks 6 and sliding elements 8 used, five independent signals or currents can nevertheless still be transmitted.

(13) The main body comprises a termination resistor 28 for a conductor track 6. Additionally, the displacement body 3 comprises a termination resistor 29 for a sliding element 8. It would also be possible to only use a termination resistor 28, 29 in the main body 2 or the displacement body 3 or to use multiple respective termination resistors 28, 29 in the main body 2 and/or in the displacement body 3.

(14) In addition, on account of the described arrangement of the conductor tracks 6 and sliding elements 8, the respective number can be readily increased, without a considerable increase in installation space being required. For example, sixteen conductor tracks and sliding elements can be used in order to form eight independent signal lines, for example for a Gigabit Ethernet connection. It would also be possible, for example, to use forty or more conductor tracks and sliding elements.

(15) In the example shown, the main body 2 is formed by way of a line carrier 17 that can be bent in a flexible manner at least in sections being inserted into a tube 16. As is illustrated in FIG. 4, the line carrier 17 can initially be produced as a flat line carrier 17. The conductor tracks 6 can be fastened, for example adhesively bonded, to said line carrier as separate components or can be produced, for example, by printed circuit board etching or printing directly onto the line carrier 17. The line carrier 17 can be bent in sections and can be stiff in sections in particular in the transverse direction in FIG. 4. This can be achieved, for example, by way of the line carrier 17 being thinly milled in sections from the rear side 18 in order to achieve a degree of bendability. The line carrier 17 can then be bent, in particular in such a way that its edges 19 touch, and inserted into the tube 16. As a result, the conductor tracks 6 distributed in the circumferential direction can be produced on the inner side of the main body 2 with a low level of technical expenditure.

(16) If the line carrier 17 is sufficiently stiff, the use of the tube 16 can also be dispensed with under certain circumstances, for example when the edges 19 of the line carrier 17 are adhesively bonded to one another or connected in some other way. Secondly, it would also be possible to use, instead of a line carrier 17 that is stiff in sections, an entirely flexible line carrier or a conductive foil which can be adhesively bonded, for example, to the inner side of the tube 16.

(17) In the example, as shown in FIG. 2, the line carrier 17 or the conductor tracks 6 are fixedly clamped in the tube 16 by the sliding bearing 20 and the screw 22. For example, during the production of the connecting device, the sliding bearing 20 can first be inserted, then the line carrier 17 can be inserted into the tube 16 and the tube can then be closed by the screw 22. In order to compensate for length tolerances of the line carrier 17 or of the conductor tracks 6, an elastically deformed tolerance compensation element 21, for example a seal 25, is clamped between the screw 22 and the line carrier 17 in the example.

(18) Owing to the arrangement of the sliding elements 8 and the conductor tracks 6 within the cavity 4, they are largely protected against contaminants. This is the case in particular since the tube 16 is closed off on one side by the screw 22 with the seal 25 arranged thereon, as a result of which a high degree of sealing is typically achieved on this side in any case. On the opposite side, the use of the sliding bearing 20 already leads to sealing off from relatively large particles and extensive sealing off from dust.

(19) If stronger sealing is desired, an additional sealing means 23 can be applied to the inner and/or outer side of the sliding bearing 20 for example. A further apparatus, for example a linearly moving component, can be coupled to the displacement body by means of the sealing rings 26, illustrated only by way of example, wherein owing to the use of the sealing rings 26 firstly an action of forces that do not act in the longitudinal direction can be damped and secondly the electrical contacting of the further apparatus can be sealed off from environmental influences too.

(20) While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.