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EP-4315526-B1 - ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR

EP4315526B1EP 4315526 B1EP4315526 B1EP 4315526B1EP-4315526-B1

Inventors

  • SCHICKLIN, Tristan
  • NURDIN, YANNICK

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220323

Claims (15)

  1. Connector unit comprising a first housing (1) having a sidewall (10) encompassing an interior space (11) in which at least one electrical contact element (12) is arranged, at least one further housing (2) having a sidewall (20) encompassing an interior space (21) in which at least one electrical contact element (22) is arranged, and a mounting element (3) having a first opening (30) and at least one further opening (30), wherein each of said first housing (1) or said further housing (2) comprises a mounting section (13, 23) via which mounting sections (13, 23) said first housing (1) and said further housing (2) are fixedly connected to the mounting element (3) such that said first housing (1) is allocated to a first opening (30) and such that said further housing (2) is allocated to a further opening (30) and wherein each of said first housing (1) or said second housing (2) comprises on the outside of said sidewall (10) a latching structure (14, 24), wherein said latching structure (14) of said first housing (1) is adapted to be latched in with said latching structure (24) of said further housing (2) in order to establish a mechanical connection between two housings (1, 2), characterized in that the connector unit further comprising tubular elements (6), wherein at least one tubular element is fixedly arranged in said interior space (11, 12) of each of the housings (1, 2), in that the tubular element (6) is made from an electrically insulating material, such as a plastic, and in that the housings (1, 2) and the mounting element (3) are made out of a conductive material, whereby an electrical contact is provided between the housings (1, 2) and the mounting element (3), in particular for shielding and/or earthing purposes.
  2. Connector unit according to claim 1, characterized in that concerning a direct connection between two neighbouring housings (1, 2) there is exclusively one single latching connection provided with said latching structure.
  3. Connector unit according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the mounting section (13, 23) of said housings (1, 2) is arranged at a front end (15, 25) of the respective housing (1, 2) and in that the latching structure (14, 24) is arranged in the region of the back end (16, 26) of the respective housing (1, 2).
  4. Connector unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of the housing (1, 2) comprises two of said latching structures (14, 24), namely a first latching structure arranged on one side of the sidewall (10, 20) and a second latching structure arranged on an other side of the sidewall (10, 20) that is opposite to said one side of the sidewall (10, 20) and/or in that the two latching structures are arranged mirror-symmetrically with regard to a middle axis (M1, M2, M1a, M1b, M2a, M2b) which extends through the housing; and/or in that the latching structure (14, 24) provides a mechanical engagement between the first housing (1) and the further housing (2) such that housings (1, 2) are fixedly connected in terms of a movement perpendicular to middle axes (M1, M2) which extend through the housings and wherein the mechanical engagement between the mounting section (13, 23) and the mounting element (3) are fixedly connected in terms of a movement along said middle axes (M1, M2).
  5. Connector unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the latching structure (14, 24) comprises at least one groove section (140, 240) and at least one comb (141, 241) section, whereby the at least one comb section (141, 241) extends into the groove section (140, 240) in the connected state.
  6. Connector unit as claimed in claim 5, wherein the groove section (140, 240) has a base surface (142, 242) from which two side surfaces (143, 243) extend, which side surfaces (143, 243) are spaced apart from each other and which side surfaces (143, 243) are preferably oriented parallel to each other and wherein at least one of said side surfaces (143, 243) is preferably angularly tilted with regard to the base surface (142, 242); and/or wherein the comb section (141, 241) has a base surface (144, 244) from which two side surfaces (145, 245) extend, which side surfaces (145, 245) are spaced apart from each other and which side surfaces (145, 245) are preferably oriented parallel to each other and wherein at least one of said side surfaces (145, 245) is preferably angularly tilted with regard to the base surface (144, 244).
  7. Connector unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mounting section (13, 23) has the shape of a flange (17, 27) extending radially away from the outer side of the housing (1, 2), which flange (17, 27) has openings (170, 270) via which the first housing (1) or the at least one further housing (2) can be connected to the mounting element (3) with a connection element (33), such as a screw.
  8. Connector unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrical contact element (12, 22) is fastened to the tubular element (6) by means of a mechanical fastening element (60, 160).
  9. Connector unit according to claim 8, wherein the mechanical fastening element is at least one latching element (60) to which the electrical contact element (12, 22) can be latched in, wherein the latching element is part of the tubular element; or wherein the mechanical fastening element is a locking ring (160) provided between the tubular element and the electrical contact element.
  10. Connector unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the tubular element (6) has a section with a diameter that corresponds to the diameter of the openings (30) in said mounting element (3), whereby the tubular element extends into and/or through said opening (30); and/or wherein the connector unit further comprises at least one side part (7), wherein said at least one side part (7) extends from the mounting element in parallel direction to the housings, wherein said at least one side part (7) is mechanically and preferably electrically connected to the mounting element (3), and wherein said at least one side part (7) is mechanically connected to the neighbouring housing (1, 2).
  11. Connector unit according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the middle axis (M1, M2) which extend through the housings are straight axes such that the interior spaces (11, 21) extend along a straight direction; or in that the middle axes (M1, M2) which extend through the housings have a bend such that a first part (M1a, M2a) of the middle axes (M1, M2) extend with an angle angularly tilted to a second part (M1b, M2b) of the middle axes.
  12. Pin-side connector assembly comprising a connector unit according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the electrical contact element (12, 22) is a pin-side electrical contact element comprising a pin-side contact section (90) and a connection section (91) to be connected to an electrical cable (8).
  13. Pin-side connector assembly according to claim 12, wherein the pin-side contact section (91) extends over a front surface (31) of the mounting element (3) which front surface is arranged opposite to the housing (1, 2).
  14. Plug-side connector assembly comprising a connector unit according to one of the preceding claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the electrical contact element (12, 22) is a plug-side electrical contact element comprising a plug-side contact section (92) and a connection section (93) to be connected to an electrical cable.
  15. Connector system comprising a pin-side connector assembly according to claims 12 to 13 and a plug-side connector assembly according to claim 14, wherein the mounting element of the pin-side connector assembly is in an electrical contact to the mounting element of the plug-side connector assembly in particular for shielding and/or earthing purposes.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to connector unit according to the preamble of claim 1. PRIOR ART There are a plethora of connectors known from prior art. Such connectors usually comprise a pin-side to be connected to a plug-side and may serve for various purposes such as providing an electrical contact or establishing a fluid-tight connection in a pneumatic or hydraulic pipe system. There are for example electrical connectors, which are used on railway carriages or to link railway carriages together such that there is an electrical contact provided in order to supply electrical appliances such as light etc. with electrical energy. Furthermore, such electrical connectors can be used for all on-board power applications such as inter-car connections, traction convertor outputs, motor connections, battery connections. Furthermore, it is known from prior art that connectors may be arranged parallel to each other so that several connections are established with one single insertion operation. Such a connector assembly is for example known from EP 3 534 467. This prior art document discloses a connector which has various functions in terms of shielding properties as well as in terms of clamping properties of the cable. Prior art connectors are know from documents WO2011154302A1, FR3022701A1, WO2006115813A1. The mechanical connection between the two housings is provided with a locking structure between two neighboring housing parts. Although the connection with locking structure provided very good results, it has been shown that in rough circumstances there is a risk that the housing might shift in the plug in direction. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present case it is an object of the present invention to provide an electrical connector which overcomes the drawbacks of prior art. In particular it is an object of the present invention to provide a connector unit which is provided in a robust manner against external forces, which in particular occur during the plugging process. This object is solved by the connector unit according claim 1. A connector unit comprises a first housing having a sidewall encompassing an interior space in which at least one electrical contact element is arranged, at least one further housing having a sidewall encompassing an interior space in which at least one electrical contact element is arranged, and a mounting element having a first opening and at least a further opening. Said first housing comprises a mounting section and said further housing comprises a mounting section. Via the mounting sections said first housing and said further housing are fixedly connected to the mounting element such that said first housing is allocated to a first opening and such that said further housing is allocated to a further opening. Said first housing comprises on the outside of said sidewall a latching structure and said second housing comprises on the outside of said sidewall also a latching structure. Said latching structure of said first housing is adapted to be latched in with said latching structure of said further housing in order to establish a mechanical connection between two housings. The connector unit comprises two connection points, which establish a mechanical connection. The first connection point is provided between the mounting element and the housings. The second connection point is provided between the two housings via the latching structure. As the mounting element serves as mechanical basis for the housings which are connected to the mounting element a shift of the housings along the middle axis due to forces during a plugging process can be prevented. In other words, the mounting element serves as base bearing structure in order to support the first and the at least one further housing. The term "at least one further housing" is to be understood as to include one or more than one housing. In case more than one housing is arranged as further housing, a first further housing is connected to the first housing and a second further housing is connected to the first further housing. Thereby the housings are arranged such to build a row of housings. The first housing and the at least one further housing are preferably provided parallel to each other such that a row of housings are provided. Preferably the number of openings in the mounting element corresponds to the number of housings. One housing is there allocated to one opening. Concerning a direct connection between two neighbouring housings there is preferably exclusively one single latching connection provided with said latching structure. The only direct connection between the housings is provided by the latching structure and an indirect connection is provided by the connection via the mounting element. In other words: The only mechanical connection between the housings is provided by the connection to the mounting element and said latching connection. This simplifies the overall structure of the connector unit