Electrical connectors – With insulation other than conductor sheath – Metallic connector or contact secured to insulation
Reexamination Certificate
2003-09-17
2004-12-21
Ta, Tho D. (Department: 2833)
Electrical connectors
With insulation other than conductor sheath
Metallic connector or contact secured to insulation
C439S358000, C439S701000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06832937
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to a subassembly for forming an electrical plug connection component, formed by a contact element housing with chambers for seating electrical contact elements, whereby the chambers have a radial opening as the engagement opening for a locking element for latching a contact element that is inserted into each chamber, and by a latching part having at least one locking element that can be connected with the contact element housing.
2. Background Art
Such subassemblies are used for forming electrical plug connection components, which can be configured as male plug connection components or female plug connection components after they have been equipped with pin contacts or socket contacts. The contact element housing of such a subassembly is used for seating the electrical contact elements and includes for this purpose several chambers arranged in one or more rows. The contact elements that are to be inserted into such a chamber include a spring clip, which faces opposite the assembling direction and which acts in cooperation with a web protruding into the chamber in order to achieve a primary latching of such a contact element in a chamber of the contact element housing.
To increase the functional reliability of such an electrical plug connection component, it is desired that the electrical contact elements are secondarily latched into the chambers of the contact element housing by additional means. Each chamber has for this purpose a radial opening, into which, for the secondary latching of the contact element inserted into such a chamber, a locking element that can be connected with the contact element housing is inserted. This locking element is part of a latching part that is fastened after the equipping of the chambers of the contact element housing in order to bring about the desired secondary latching to the contact element housing. In addition, such a contact element housing includes mechanical latching means so that the plug connection component formed by this subassembly can be latched with a mating plug connection component.
In principle, different subassemblies can be formed using one and the same latching part, in that different contact element housings are assembled using the latching part. In this way, different variants of one subassembly can be formed, for example, by different insertion codings for the mating plug connection component. Such codings are assigned to the contact element housing so that for forming different variants of one subassembly, differently designed contact element housings have to be available, which must always have the mechanical latching means for latching a mating plug connection component affixed at the same location.
The same number of different contact element housings is thus needed as the number of different subassemblies. Consequently, the inventory maintenance costs and the tool costs in particular are factors that should not be underestimated, so that as a general rule, a new tool for producing a contact element housing does not pay from an economic standpoint unless the contact element housing produced with it can be produced and sold in large enough quantities.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is therefore based on the task of further developing a generic subassembly of the type mentioned above in such a way that two or more variants of a subassembly can be formed using a single contact element housing.
According to the invention, this task is solved in that the latching part, which is found in at least two different spatial locations, can be assembled with the contact element housing, and that assigned to the latching part is a latching device for the mechanical latching of the plug connection component formed by the subassembly with a mating plug connection component.
With this subassembly, the contact element housing, which is found in different spatial locations, can be assembled with the latching part to form different variants of a subassembly or to form different subassemblies. A latching device is assigned to the latching part in order to be able to produce the desired latching with a mating plug connection component. With respect to the desired connection with a mating contact element part, the contact element housing can thus be connected with the latching part in virtually any spatial location, specifically while assuring a consistent positioning of the latching device.
As a result, it is possible to contact different variants of a subassembly with one and the same mating plug connection component. For example, to form variants of a subassembly it can be provided that the contact element housing is arranged relative to the latching part rotated by 180° around its longitudinal axis. Different variants can be identified by different equipping and/or different labeling of the contact element housing. For example, different variants can be distinguished by means of a housing coding on the contact element housing, which, for example, in the case of one variant, is placed relative to the coding of the latching part on the left side of the coding and in the case of another variant is located on the right side of the coding of the latching part as a result of a rotation of the contact element housing by 180°. In this case, the coding could be a so-called 180° coding, for example.
It becomes clear from the description of this subassembly that in order to make possible the desired different assembling of the contact element housing and the latching part, both elements must include connection means that are matched to each other, by means of which the desired variability of assembling is possible. That is the case, for example, if the latching part is formed like a clasp, the legs of which surround the contact element housing from a narrow side. The contact element housing can be inserted by one or the other of its narrow sides into such a clasp-like or U-shaped recess in the latching part.
For guiding the two elements, with such a design it is advisable to provide that the contact element housing have one or more guide grooves, into which complementary designed guide elements of the latching part engage. In a similar way, the desired variability can also be achieved by using catch or clip connection elements. The latching device of the latching part of the subassembly is also advantageously used as insertion coding for the correctly positioned connection of a mating plug connection component.
A locking bar that has a barb-like configuration and is formed onto a spring clip, and that works in cooperation with a limit stop assigned to the mating plug connection component can be used to latch the subassembly with a mating plug connection component in order to secure the plug connection. Webs placed parallel to the spring clip can be used to protect the spring clip and, in particular, to provide an insertion coding as well. The webs can—as is provided in the embodiment—make a transition into a collar that surrounds the free end of the spring clip. Such a collar is intended to prevent the spring clip from being bent outward or broken off during handling of the subassembly.
REFERENCES:
patent: 6450840 (2002-09-01), Nakamura
patent: 696 13 197 (1996-11-01), None
patent: 1 126 556 (2000-11-01), None
Kammerer Dietmar
Wrede Bernhard
Brooks & Kushman P.C.
Leopold Kostal GmbH & Co. KG
Ta Tho D.
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