A connector with a lateral cable outlet

Abstract: The invention relates to a connector with a lateral cable outlet comprising a plug part (1) having an attachment (2) and an adjacent casing which is flat transversely to the direction of insertion. The cable outlet (40) has a two-part clamping device (50a, 50b) which firmly clamps the cable (46) at the outlet of the casing, and an upper hollow substantially semicylindrical groove (50a) with retaining ribs (47) is formed in an attachment (48) integral with a lid (45) of the casing and having two vertical side walls (51a, 51b). A second hollow semicylindrical clamp (49) is secured to the casing by retaining ribs (47) so as to be latchable at the insides of the side walls.

Description: The present invention relates to a connector with a lateral cable outlet of the kind described in the preamble of claim 1. Such a connector is known, for example from US-A-4,822,286. Connectors of the aforementioned kind, with a lateral cable outlet and a casing which is flat in the direction of insertion, are used whenever it is necessary, for reasons of space, to bend the connecting cable by about 90° from the axis of the connector, immediately behind the plug attachment. A situation of this kind occurs e.g. with ignition plugs for airbag-retaining systems, where the airbag and the ignition mechanism are disposed on the impact cup of the steering wheel, where the overall height is restricted. In the case of connectors with a lateral cable outlet and a flat casing, there is always a risk that their cable will be pulled out of the mating connector. Although this method of disengaging the connector is not according to specifications, precautions must be taken to reduce the damage in this case to a minimum. This means that the plug casing must not be torn apart and possibly irreversibly deformed by the resulting lever forces. It is also necessary to prevent the cable ends from being partly or completely disconnected from the backs of the plug. US-A-4,822,286 discloses a connector with a lateral cable outlet and a plug part comprising a plug attachment and an adjoining casing which is flat transversely to the direction of insertion, wherein the cable outlet comprises a two-part clamping device which firmly clamps the cable at the outlet of the casing, wherein an upper clamp with a hollow groove with retaining ribs is formed in an attachment integral with a lid on the casing and having two vertical side walls and a second clamp with a hollow groove is secured to the casing and has retaining ribs for latching at the insides of the side walls. The object of the invention is to improve a connector according to the invention with a lateral cable outlet so that when an axial or oblique pull is exerted on the cable end, it is effectively protected from disconnection and damage to the casing. These problems are solved according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the subclaims. In order to show the fitter the exact position in which the connector according to the invention is, there are two engaged positions - a first position in which the secondary latching is not yet operative, so that the plug can still be pulled out, and a second position in which the connector is latched and a special tool may be needed to release the handle. According to another feature of the invention, a locking slide is provided in the lid of the casing of the connector, so as to prevent the secondary latching being pressed down out of the assembly position into the latched position unless the locking slide is deliberately pushed sideways. This reliably prevents accidental final latching during assembly. Alternatively the handle is disposed so as to be movable transversely to the direction of insertion, so that in the assembly position the handle cannot be pressed into the latched position, this being possible only after being deliberately moved sideways into a position in which the handle can be pressed into the latched position. These features ensure that faulty operation during assembly is substantially prevented, and during assembly the fitter will always know the exact state of the connector when installed, so that it cannot be latched prematurely. The invention will now be explained in detail by a description of preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings in which: Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a connector in section and in the assembly and in the latched position; Fig. 2 shows a variant of the embodiment in Fig. 1, in the assembly position; Fig. 3 is a view in cross-section of a connector with a locking slide for preventing premature latching; Fig. 4 shows the latching-preventing means in Fig. 3 in plan view; Fig. 5 shows an alternative latching-preventing means in perspective view; Fig. 6 shows the latching-preventing means in Fig. 5 in three latch positions; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the connector according to the invention and Fig. 8 is an exploded view of the connector in Fig. 7. Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through a connector 1 comprising a plug part 21 and a socket part 7. The socket part 7, in the case of an airbag-retaining system, is a part of the casing of the ignition mechanism. On each side of the plug axis 6, the plug part 21 has tongues 4a, 4b which engage in corresponding slots 3a, 3b in the socket part 7, where latches 5a, 5b engage in undercuts in the slots 3a, 3b. In the case shown here, the latches have sloping flanks on each side, so that after engagement, the plug part 21 can be pulled out by pulling it strongly. The slots 3a, 3b have a width such that after the latches 5a, 5b have engaged behind the tongues 4a, 4b an additional slot 9a, 9b for receiving the locking arms 2a, 2b of the handle 2 is formed in the direction of the plug axis 6. Fig. 1 shows the handle 2 in the assembly position A on the right half and in the latched position B on the left half. In the assembly position, the locking arms 2a, 2b are not received in the slots 9a, 9b. On each side the lateral wings 11a, 11b surround the plug part 21 and the latch hooks 12a, 12b engage in corresponding grooves formed in the side walls of the plug part 21, so as to lock the handle 2 in this assembly position. In this position, therefore, the plug attachment 10 can be fitted into the socket part 7, and can also be released from this position by strong pulling, since the latches 5a, 5b can pivot out of the corresponding undercuts. This situation is shown in Fig. 2, which clearly shows that the tongues 4a, 4b pivot in the free slots 9a, 9b. In order finally to latch the connector 1, the handle 2 is pressed in the direction for insertion, so that the sloping end faces of the latch hooks are pressed out of the grooves 13a, 13b, slide along the side walls of the plug part 21, and finally are latched to the lower edge of the side walls of the plug part 21. In this position the locking arms 2a, 2b have entered the slots 9a, 9b and prevent the latches 5a, 5b from swinging back, thus ensuring that the connector 1 has actually been latched. The handle 2 can be latched to the lower edges of the side walls of the plug part 21 in such a manner that a special tool is necessary for releasing it. Fig. 3 shows the plug part 21 in longitudinal section. The cable outlet is shown on the right side and a chamber e.g. for a choke is provided on the left side. The handle 2 is on the plug axis 6 and is shown in Fig. 3 in the assembly position, i.e. the locking arms 2a, 2b are not completely inserted into the slots 9a, 9b. The locking slide 30 prevents the handle 2 from being pressed into the latched position. The slide is mounted in a groove 31 in the casing lid 32 so as to be movable transversely to the direction 6 of engagement and can be moved between a locking position and a position in which it enables the handle 2 to be inserted. In the locking position, the locking slide 30 is engaged by suitable latches 29 on the lid and on the slide. On its surface, the locking slide 30 has grooves 34 which facilitate sliding thereof and enable the locking slide to terminate flush with the lid surface, so that the resulting connector has a very flat construction, particularly since the transverse strut 20 of the handle 2 is also lowered into the groove 31 in the latching position. A pin 33 is disposed on the underside of the transverse strut 20 and in the assembly position adjoins the locking slide. Its length is chosen so that in this position the tips of the locking arms 2a, 2b just extend into the slots 9a, 9b. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the locking slide 30 on the casing lid. The drawing shows an alternative means of securing the locking slide 30, two recesses 39 being provided at the side in the groove 31, for a latch 36 disposed in the side wall of the locking slide 30. In the final latched position, the handle 2 along with the locking slide 30 can be pressed down so far that its surface is flush with the casing lid surface. Fig. 5 shows an alternative embodiment preventing accidental latching of the handle in the final position. In this embodiment the complete handle 2 is moved sideways in a groove 13b transversely to the direction of insertion 6, into a position in which the locking arms 2a, 2b can enter the slots 9a, 9b. Fig. 5 shows the lateral groove 13b, in which the wings 11a, 11b of the handle 2 are guided. Ribs 23 bound the lateral travel distance and prevent any accidental pressure on the handle 2 from spreading out the wings 11a, 11b in a position in which the locking arms 2a, 2b cannot enter the slots 9a, 9b. In addition the connector is constructed so that in the initial latch position the locking arms 2a, 2b additionally or alternatively extend upwards from the base of the casing and accidental actuation is impossible. The casing and the inside of the wings 11a, 11b are formed with knobs and recesses 25, 26, so that it is possible to detect when the handle is latched in the intermediate position. Latching of this kind is optional and can be omitted if required. Figs. 6a to 6c show a perspective view of the connector according to Fig. 5 in the initial latching position (Fig. 6a) in which the handle 2 cannot be pressed down. In order to reach the final position, the handle 2 must first be moved sideways into the position shown in Fig. 6b, so that it can then be pressed down into the end position (Fig. 6c). As can be seen, in this version also the handle 2 is flush with the surface of the connector casing lid, so that the connector is flat. Fig. 7 shows a connector 1 as a whole comprising an attachment 10 inserted into a complementary plug (not shown) and also comprising a flat casing. The lateral cable outlet is shown on the right side. A cable 46, indicated by chain lines, comes out of the cable outlet 40. The upper part of the connector is covered by a lid 44. A locking handle 45 extends through the lid down to latching arms which extend parallel to the plug attachment, in order to secure the connector after installation. The cable outlet 40 has a two-part clamping device 50a, 50b which will be explained in detail hereinafter. A part of the clamping device 50a comprises a hollow semicylindrical groove formed with retaining ribs 47. A cable 46 is inserted in the groove and, when the casing components are fitted together in the specified manner, the retaining ribs are partly pressed into the cable sheath transversely to the cable axis. The upper part 50a of the clamping device is in the form of a side attachment 48 moulded in one piece on the lid 44 and has an upper wall 60, the underside of which is formed with the upper groove 50a in its centre. The attachment 48 also has two vertical side walls 51a and 51b. Latches are formed on the insides of the side walls 51a and 51b and cooperate with corresponding complementary detents 53. The detents 53 are on the second part of the clamping device 50b, which is likewise in the form of an attachment or clamp 49 integral with the casing. The clamp 49 likewise has a central semicylindrical groove with retaining ribs 47 forming the counterpart to the groove 50a, the cable 46 being clamped between them. On the two sides of the groove 50b the clamp has two arms 56, substantially following the contour of the inner side walls, and their lower outer ends are flush with the lower edges of the vertical side walls 51a, 51b of attachment 48. The detents 53 and the corresponding latches 52 are disposed closely above the lower end of the side walls 51a, 51b or the arms 56. Preferably, the arms 56 are prestressed slightly outwards when cast, so that when the attachment 48 is locked to the clamp 49, the detents 53 are pressed into the latches 52. If a force is exerted on the lid 44 by an obliquely upward or backward pull in opposition to the direction of insertion, tending to loosen the lid from the casing, application of a force in this direction will press the detent 53 more deeply into the corresponding latch 52 and, if the side walls 51a, 51b yield outwardly, the arms 56 will follow the yielding movement, with the result that the detents 53 cannot be removed from the latches; on the contrary, the two parts of the clamping device are joined together even more firmly. The greater the pull from the direction of the lid and the further the side walls or arms of the clamp move apart, the more firmly the locking device spreads into the undercut of the lid. This ensures that the parts of the casing cannot come loose and the cable cannot be pulled out in the axial direction, since the parts of the clamping device 50a, 50b always remain firmly pressed together.

Claims: A connector with a lateral cable outlet and a plug part (1) comprising a plug attachment and an adjoining casing which is flat transversely to the direction of insertion, wherein the cable outlet (40) comprises a two-part clamping device (50a, 50b) which firmly clamps the cable (46) at the outlet of the casing, wherein an upper clamp with a hollow groove (50a) with retaining ribs (47) is formed in an attachment (48) integral with a lid (44) on the casing and having two vertical side walls (51a, 51b) and a second clamp (49) with a hollow groove (50b) is secured to the casing and has retaining ribs (47) for latching at the insides of the side walls, characterized in that said grooves (50a, 50b) are substantially semi-cylindrical and the attachment (48) has an upper wall (60) with its inside formed with the upper groove (50a) and with both vertical side walls (51a, 51b) on the two longitudinal sides of the groove (50a), latches (52) being formed in the side walls and cooperating with corresponding detents (53) on the second clamp and in that the second clamp (49) is shaped to match the contour of the inner side walls (51a, 51b) and the upper inner wall (60) of the attachment (48), and the transitions between the upper wall (60) and the side walls (51a, 51b) are in the form of curves (54), to generate a resilient pressing force on the cable. A connector according to claim 1, characterized in that the second clamp (49) presents arms which are resiliently prestressed outwards when formed. A connector according to claim 2, characterized in that the side walls (51a, 51b) of the upper clamp are moulded and the arms have detents for securing the lid (44) to the body of the casing.

Inventors: ODOERFER FRANK, ODOERFER, FRANK, Odörfer, Frank
Applicants: FRAMATOME CONNECTORS INT, FCI
Application year: 1997
Main classification: H01R13
IPC codes: H01R13