ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR WITH CODING FUNCTION

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrical connector including a first connector housing with a wall arranged substantially perpendicular to the connecting axis. The wall has an opening for insertion of a second connector housing. A first collar extends from the wall concentrically around the opening. A second collar extends from the wall concentrically around the first collar. The first collar and the second collar are spaced apart. A sleeve-shaped coding element is attached with a first end to the free end of the first collar. The first collar and the sleeve-shaped coding element are arranged concentrically around the opening. A sealing element is arranged in a sealing area between the first collar and the second collar. The sleeve-shaped coding element includes a supporting feature at its first end which is suitable for holding the sealing element in its position.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising: a first connector housing; and a second connector housing, wherein the first connector housing defines a wall arranged substantially perpendicular to a connecting axis, wherein the wall defines an opening for insertion of the second connector housing, wherein the first connector housing includes a first collar that extends from the wall concentrically around the opening and a second collar that concentrically extends from the wall around the first collar, wherein the first collar and the second collar are spaced apart, wherein a sleeve-shaped coding element is attached with a first end to a free end of the first collar, wherein the first collar and the sleeve-shaped coding element are concentrically arranged around the opening, wherein a sealing element is arranged in a sealing area between the first collar and the second collar, and wherein the sleeve-shaped coding element includes a supporting feature at the first end which is suitable for holding the sealing element in its position.

2. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first end of the sleeve-shaped coding element and the free end of the first collar include fastening feature which is configured to hold them together.

3. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 2, wherein the fastening feature include cylindrical pegs projecting perpendicularly from the inner side of the sleeve-shaped coding element and cooperating with circular-arc-shaped recesses in the free end.

4. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first end of the sleeve-shaped coding element and the free end of the first collar can only be connected in a specific orientation.

5. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein a second end of the sleeve-shaped coding element and a free end of the second collar are not in one plane, perpendicular to the connecting axis.

6. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein a dimension of the sleeve-shaped coding element in the connecting direction is larger than a cross-section of the sleeve-shaped coding element.

7. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first collar, within the sealing area, is free of joint lines and ridges on a sealing surface facing the sealing element.

8. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sealing element is made of silicone or contains silicone.

9. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the sleeve-shaped coding element includes a coding feature at a second end, which is suitable, in combination with a corresponding coding feature of a mating connector, to enable or prevent full mechanical connection of the first and second connector housings.

10. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 9, wherein the coding feature is a recess in the sleeve-shaped coding element, which extends from the second end of the sleeve-shaped coding element along the connecting axis in a direction of the first end.

11. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein a width of the recess is small in relation to a circumference of the sleeve-shaped coding element.

12. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cross-section of the sleeve-shaped coding element is rectangular and the recess is provided in a flat area of the sleeve-shaped coding element.

13. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 6, wherein the cross-section of the sleeve-shaped coding element is square-shaped.

14. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 12, wherein the sleeve-shaped coding element includes a plurality of the recess in each flat area, the plurality of the recess not being distributed uniformly over the circumference of the sleeve-shaped coding element.

15. The electrical connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting feature is formed by an end surface of the first end of the sleeve-shaped coding element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0026] The present invention will now be described, by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0027] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the electrical connector according to one embodiment;

[0028] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the electrical connector with partially removed second collar according to one embodiment;

[0029] FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the electrical connector according to one embodiment;

[0030] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the coding element, in particular of the first end according to one embodiment;

[0031] FIG. 5 shows the first connector housing in a perspective view according to one embodiment; and

[0032] FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of the electrical connector, partially connected with a mating connector according to one embodiment;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a non-limiting example of a connector 10 in a perspective view. The illustration shows the area which is connected to the mating connector 110 during mating. The second collar 26 partially surrounds the coding element 50, which in turn partially surrounds the second connector housing 40. From the second end 52, slit-shaped recesses 57 extend rectilinearly along the connecting axis X into the material of the coding element 50. In this illustration, the coding element 50 has four recesses 57 distributed over its circumference. The second connector housing 40 is held centrally in the first connector housing 20. The second connector housing 40 is attached somewhat recessed in relation to the second end 52 of the coding element 50. This ensures that the coding element 50 first must find its guidance during connecting before the second connector housing 40 finds its counterpart. This structure protects the small second connector housing 40 from damage.

[0034] In FIG. 2, a portion of the second collar 26 has been removed to provide a view of the sealing element 30 and the complete coding element 50. It can be seen that the sealing element 30 cannot shift. In this illustration, the recesses 57 in the coding element 50 extend almost to the first end 51 of the coding element 50.

[0035] FIG. 3 shows the first connector housing 20, the sealing element 30 and the coding element 50 in an exploded view. In this illustration, it can be seen how the electrical connector 10 is assembled. First, the sealing element 30 is brought into the sealing area 29 (not shown herein) and then the coding element 50 is attached to the free end 25 of the first collar 23. The second connector housing 40 can be attached within the first collar 23 before or after the assembly of the sealing element 30.

[0036] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the coding element 50, in particular its first end 51. It can be seen that a circumferential end surface 54 forms the end. This end surface 54 prevents shifting of the sealing element 30 in the sealing area 28. Furthermore, pegs 55 are shown, which extend from the inner side of the coding element 50. These pegs 55, together with the recesses 31 in the first collar 23, form holding feature which hold the coding element 50 at the free end 25 of the first collar 23. By selection of the diameter of the pegs 55 and the shape and size of the recesses 31 at the free end 25 of the first collar 23, the force required for connecting and releasing can be set. As can be seen in FIG. 5, a sealing area 28, which is open in the connecting direction X, is defined by the first collar 23, the second collar 26 and the wall 21. When connecting with a mating connector 110, a counter collar 126 slides into the sealing area 28 and is sealed by the sealing element 30, as shown in FIG. 6.

[0037] While this invention has been described in terms of the preferred embodiments thereof, it is not intended to be so limited, but rather only to the extent set forth in the claims that follow. Moreover, the use of the terms first, second, primary secondary, etc. does not denote any order of importance, but rather the terms first, second, etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, the use of the terms a, an, etc. do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.