Plug element with locking seal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9859650-B2
Application number	US-201113638498-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2011
Priority date	Mar 30, 2010
Publication date	Jan 2, 2018
Grant date	Jan 2, 2018

Abstract

The invention relates to a plug element ( 2, 2 ′) of a plug connector ( 1 ) for a sealed electrical plug-and-socket connection extending through a hole ( 4 ) in a wall ( 5 ), having a protective housing ( 9, 9 ′), which comprises an inner chamber ( 46 ), which at least in places forms a mating plug receptacle ( 45 ) for a mating plug element ( 3 ) complementary to the plug element ( 2, 2 ′), having a locking device ( 11, 11 ′), which is actuatable from outside the protective housing ( 9 ) and may be moved from an unlocked position (T) into a locked position (R), the locking device ( 11, 11 ′) extending at least in the locked position (R) into the inner chamber ( 46 ) and overlapping the mating plug receptacle ( 45 ) at least in places, and having at least one sealing element ( 18, 18 ′) resting against the protective housing ( 9, 9 ′) at least in a final plugged-together position of the plug connector ( 1 ), by means of which sealing element the mating plug receptacle ( 45 ) may be sealed relative to the external environment of the plug connector ( 1 ). In order to provide a sealed plug connector ( 1 ) with the smallest possible dimensions, provision is made according to the invention for at least one sealing element ( 18, 18 ′) to be arranged sealingly between the protective housing ( 9, 9 ′) and the locking device ( 11, 11 ′) at least in the locked position (R).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A plug element of an electrical plug connector for a sealed electrical plug-and-socket connection extending through a hole in a wall, having a protective housing, which comprises an inner chamber defined by outer walls of the protective housing, which forms a mating plug receptacle for a mating plug element complementary to the plug element, one of the outer walls of the protective housing having openings extending therethrough and along the outer walls, the plug element further comprising a locking device having elongate locking members slidably received in the openings and being actuable from outside the protective housing and moved from an unlocked position into a locked position, the locking device extending at least in the locked position into the inner chamber and overlapping the mating plug element, and having at least one sealing element at an intersection of the locking device and the one of the outer walls of the protective housing at least in the locked position of the locking device, the sealing element sealing the mating plug receptacle relative to an external environment of the plug connector, wherein the at least one sealing element is arranged sealingly adjacent to the openings when in the locked position and the sealing element not extending into the inner chamber and wherein the locking device is latched in each of the unlocked position and the locked position.

2. The plug element according to claim 1 , wherein at least in the locked position the at least one sealing element is arranged in a region of the openings.

3. The plug element according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one sealing element rests at least in the locked position around the circumference of a peripheral portion of the openings.

4. The plug element according to claim 1 , wherein at least in the locked position an actuating portion of the locking device is arranged so as to be accessible from outside the protective housing.

5. The plug element according to claim 4 , wherein the actuating portion closes the openings.

6. The plug element according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one sealing element and a wall sealing element for sealing the plug connector relative to the wall and intended for arrangement between the protective housing and the wall are formed in one piece.

7. The plug element according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one sealing element is formed at least in part from resilient material injection moulded onto the protective housing.

8. The plug element according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one sealing element is formed at least in places from resilient material injection moulded onto the locking device.

9. The plug element according to claim 8 , wherein the elongate locking members are defined as spars and the sealing element at least in places circumferentially encloses the spars of the locking device projecting through the openings.

10. The plug element according to claim 1 , wherein at least one closing stopper is formed on the locking device, which closing stopper projects at least in the locked position through a tool recess in a wall of the protective housing, a stopper sealing element being arranged between the closing stopper and the tool recess.

11. The plug element according to claim 10 , wherein the protective housing comprises at least one opening to the inner chamber and the tool recess is aligned with the opening.

12. The plug element according to claim 10 , wherein the closing stopper is configured as a peg around the circumference of which the at least one stopper sealing element is injection moulded.

13. The electrical plug connector for an electrical plug-and-socket connection extending through a hole in a wall, having a plug element and a mating plug element, wherein the plug element is configured according to claim 1 .

14. The electrical plug connector according to claim 13 , wherein the plug connector comprises at least two rows of contact element receptacles, a pass-through portion of the mating plug connector arranged through the hole in the final plugged-together position having a width measured across the at least two rows of at most 13 mm.

15. The electrical plug connector according to claim 1 , wherein the openings extend though a front wall of the protective housing, and the openings extend only through the front wall.

Assignees

• Forell Richard
• Schneider Joachim
• Gimbel Marcus
• Te Connectivity Germany Gmbh

Inventors

• Forell Richard
• Schneider Joachim
• Gimbel Marcus

Classifications

• H01R13/62911 Primary

  U-shaped sliding element · CPC title

• H01R13/5202

  Sealing means between parts of housing or between housing part and a wall, e.g. sealing rings · CPC title

• H01R13/5219

  Sealing means between coupling parts, e.g. interfacial seal · CPC title

• H01R13/743

  integral with the housing · CPC title