US-12620761-B2 - Connection assembly and control device

Abstract

A terminal assembly, comprising a terminal connector having a shield, a grounding part, in particular a housing, and a connection device which is arranged in order to capacitively connect the shield and the grounding part, wherein the connection device contacts the shield and the grounding part, and the connection device comprises a first electrically conductive contact and a second insulating contact, wherein one contact contacts the shield and one contact contacts the grounding part.

Inventors

• Stefan Heubusch
• Daniel Egger

Assignees

• AUMOVIO AUTONOMOUS MOBILITY GERMANY GMBH

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20211130

Priority Date

20210114

Claims (9)

1. 1 . A terminal assembly comprising a terminal connector having a shield; a grounding part; and a connection device capacitively connecting the shield and the grounding part, wherein the connection device comprises: a first electrically conductive contact, a second insulating contact, and a spring or a gasket comprising a conductive coating as the first electrically conductive contact; wherein a first contact of the first electrically conductive contact and the second insulating contact contacts the shield and a second contact of the first electrically conductive contact and the second insulating contact contacts the grounding part, and wherein the spring or the gasket exerts a spring force on the first contact toward the shield and exerts the spring force on the second contact toward the grounding part thereby securing the connection device against slipping.
2. 2 . The terminal assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the connection device one of: contacts the shield via the first electrically conductive contact and the grounding part via the second insulating contact, and contacts the grounding part via the first electrically conductive contact and the shield via the second insulating contact.
3. 3 . The terminal assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the connection device comprises an insulation pad provided as the second insulating contact.
4. 4 . The terminal assembly according to claim 3 , wherein the insulation pad comprises a first electrically conductive layer provided as the first electrically conductive contact and a second insulating layer provided as the second insulating contact.
5. 5 . The terminal assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the connection device comprises a body, wherein the body is electrically conductive and one side of the body is provided as the first contact, and wherein an insulating surface, film or layer is arranged on the opposite side of the body as the second insulating contact, or is non-electrically conductive and one side of the body is provided as the second contact, and a surface, film or layer is arranged on the opposite side of the body as the first contact.
6. 6 . The terminal assembly according to claim 5 , wherein the body comprises electrically conductive material, and the insulating layer comprises non-electrically conductive material.
7. 7 . The terminal assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the electrically conductive material is metal, and the non-electrically conductive material is plastic.
8. 8 . The terminal assembly according to claim 6 , wherein the electrically conductive material is metal, and the non-electrically conductive material is applied by varnishing.
9. 9 . The terminal assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the spring force is exerted on the first contact toward the shield in a first direction and is exerted on the second contact toward the grounding part in a second direction that is opposite to the first direction.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Patent Application No. PCT/DE2021/200224 filed on Nov. 30, 2021, and claims priority from German Patent Application No. 10 2021 200 309.5 filed on Jan. 14, 2021, in the German Patent and Trademark Office, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entireties. BACKGROUND 1. Field Embodiments of the present application relate to a terminal assembly in which a capacitive connection exists between a terminal connector or the connector shield of the terminal connector and a grounding part or a housing, e.g., of a control apparatus, as well as a control apparatus which has a terminal assembly. 2. Description of Related Art Modern means of transport such as motor vehicles or motorcycles are increasingly being equipped with driver assistance systems which, with the aid of sensor systems, detect the surroundings, recognize a traffic situation and support the driver, e.g., by a braking or steering intervention or by outputting a visual or acoustic warning. Ultrasonic sensors, camera sensors, surround-view cameras, radar sensors, lidar sensors or the like are regularly deployed as sensor systems for detecting the surroundings. Conclusions can subsequently be drawn about the surroundings from the sensor data established by the sensors, by means of which assistance functions for supporting the driver during parking and/or driving maneuvers can be implemented. The control of such sensors as well as the further processing of the produced sensor data are nowadays carried out by means of complex electronic control units such as, e.g., ECU, Electronic Control Unit or ADCU, Assisted and Automated Driving Control Unit. Generic control units are, for the most part, installed directly on the vehicle bodywork. In this case, it is not necessary, as a general rule, for the housing of the control unit to have a DC connection, but rather a capacitive connection with a connector shield and the ground (GND) of the circuit board of the control unit. The connector shield is, as a general rule, capacitively connected to the housing via the printed circuit board (PCB) of the control unit, i.e., via components on the printed circuit board such as capacitors. Multiple parallel capacitances or capacitors (e.g., multi-layer ceramic capacitors, MLCC,) can also be arranged in order to establish the capacitive connection. However, the problem in this case with high-speed transitions or connections which work, e.g., with data rates of >1 GHz is that the impedance of the shield connection of the plug connector must be very low, wherein a capacitive connection with capacitances or capacitors (MLCCs) arranged on the printed circuit board has a comparatively high impedance. A plug connector for a shielded cable which has a shield connecting element which is connected, on the one hand, with the cable shield and has a housing contact part which is arranged lying in contact with a part lying on the ground potential or the reference potential, e.g., the connector housing, is known from DE 32 011 42 A1. The housing contact part can be arranged resiliently so that it establishes a good contact on the inner wall of the housing. DE 32 011 42 A1 already shows that it is frequently necessary to shield signal cables against electromagnetic radiations. For this purpose, the cables leading to the plug connector are provided with a metallic shield which is connected in an electrically conductive manner via the plug connector, for example, with the housing of the device. SUMMARY Aspects of embodiments of the present application relate to an assembly with which an improved connection is achieved between the connector and the housing, and with which the problems known from the prior art are overcome in a simple and inexpensive manner. According to an aspect of an embodiment, a terminal assembly can be used for a control unit, a sensor or the like and comprises a terminal connector to which a terminal plug or connection cable can be attached. The terminal assembly has a shield or connector shield in order to shield the terminal or the cable. Furthermore, a grounding part is provided, in particular the housing of the control apparatus, and a connection device which is arranged in order to capacitively connect the shield and the grounding part, wherein the connection device contacts the shield and the grounding part. The connection device comprises a first electrically conductive contact and a second insulating contact, wherein one contact contacts the shield and one contact contacts the grounding part. In particular, the term “contacts” within the meaning of the embodiment is to be understood to be a direct contact and an indirect contact within the meaning of a galvanic connection, i.e., by way of example, via a conductive film, layer, conductive paste or the like located therebetween. An in particular low-im